The Mystery Mansion
by Political Blonde
Summary: Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys have been invited by a British Billionaire to compete in a Super Slueth Competition. But when people start dropping dead and they find themselves trapped it becomes quite evident that their next move just may be their last.
1. Reunion

**Disclaimer: I do not own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys although I greatly wish I did. This is my first Nancy Drew/ Hardy Boys fanfic so please be nice! Well with that said please read, please enjoy, and please let me know how I'm doing.**

**This chapter was BETA read by my wonderful BETA reader, msnancydrew. Thanks a bunch for your help!**

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Ch.1 Reunion

Nancy tucked her strawberry blonde hair behind her left ear as she glanced out across the River Thames for the millionth time that day. She could see the London Eye in the distance turning slowly, filled with bustling tourists gawking at Double-Decker buses and taking pictures with the Tower Bridge in the background. Nancy knew from reading the literature on the airplane that you could see most of Greater London from the top of the eye and had thought earlier about abandoning her post and taking a ride in hopes of spotting her clue, but one look at her instructions and a glance in her pocket book squashed that idea. She had no idea what she would be looking for and she certainly didn't have enough pounds for more than two rides.

Nancy sighed and took a seat on her luggage, her brow knit in frustration. She had been sitting alone for the better part of three hours and had still yet to see her clue. But she was aware of many like her who had come with their luggage in tow, walked to the edge of the railing, pulled out a familiar green envelope, read over it, and looked out across the water. They had only remained for ten minutes at the most before grabbing their luggage and heading on their way. Nancy had thought about following them on more than one occasion but what if she lost them or her next destination required information given in the clue? No, cheating wouldn't work.

Nancy gave another sigh, removed the emerald envelope from her blazer pocket and extracted several pieces of folded parchment from inside it. She quickly and carefully unfolded them before flipping through the pages and pulling out clue number one.

"The Moat of Tower Hill."

Nancy had flown into the London-Gatwick airport just on the outskirts of London. She had read on the airplane that the Tower of London was located at Tower Hill and quickly asked an attendant for directions on how to get there. The attendant had told her to take a quick train ride into town and then hop on the Tube. Nancy had done just that. She had been thrilled upon looking at a map of the Tube Lines to discover that Tower Hill was a station on the Circle Line which happened to run through the train station as well. Nancy immediately bought herself a ticket and boarded. Once arriving at her destination it hadn't taken Nancy long to figure out that Tower Hill had no moat. In fact, the Tower of London, which spanned the other side of the street, didn't even have a moat. The closest water had been the River Thames so here she sat glancing at "the moat" feeling like crap.

_Crap_…Nancy had felt like that on more than one occasion this summer. Nancy pressed her knuckles into her head to keep the tears that sprang to her eyes from falling.

_Nancy pulled her car into the University Parking Lot a smile plastered on her face. Turning off the ignition she reached across the seat and grabbed the box of chicken Hannah had prepared for her and Ned. Her ring tapped the plastic Tupperware and she smiled even wider. Ned had proposed to her graduation night and Nancy had answered, "Yes," immediately. Her father and Hannah had been thrilled but not surprised as they claimed they'd seen it coming for years. Nancy and Ned were meant for each other; they believed it and so did Nancy. They ended up having a long dinner that night full of laughter, love, and alcohol for everyone, except Nancy of course. Her father and Hannah caught a cab at midnight; they were too drunk to drive. Nancy had driven Ned back to his dorms and proceeded to stay the night._

_Nancy awoke the next morning to her cell phone ringing and remembered suddenly that she had plans with Bess for the next week. They were going to L.A. for graduation, no mystery. She remembered sliding his arm off her chest as she slid out of bed. It took her a few rings to locate her phone in her pants pocket. She knew the moment Bess's frantic voice tore through the line she wasn't going to see Ned. Hanging up the phone after a lengthy discussion about Bess's missing boyfriend. Nancy glanced at Ned who was still drunkenly sprawled across the bed. Nancy left him a note explaining where she was going and with who and was out the door. Ned never awoke._

_Now two week later Nancy was thrilled to finally spend time with her future husband. She had helped Hannah make chicken before getting ready to surprise Ned. Nancy could still remember the warmth of the meat through the plastic and cotton of her dress and hear the gravel crunching beneath her blue heels. _

_Nancy could see two people as she approached the front porch. They appeared locked in a passionate make-out session and Nancy tried to look away out of embarrassment but as she moved to turn away the two lovers pulled away from each other, panting. One glance at the man's face was all Nancy needed; with a gasp she had dropped the chicken on the ground._

_Ned glanced up from his partner and met Nancy's eyes briefly before returning to his prize. Nancy felt utterly sick as she backed away towards her car never taking her eyes off Ned and the other girl. Her fiancé was cheating on her, ergo the breakup. _

Nancy sighed as she glanced back across the water. "Stop thinking about that Drew," she whispered to herself.

"Nancy!" called a male voice.

"Oh god," Nancy hissed, "I am hearing him now." Nancy fingered her ring where it rested in her pocket.

"Nancy Drew!" The voice was closer now

"Hey Nancy, over here!" Another voice called, causing Nancy to turn quickly—not a smart move on her wheeled luggage. With the grace of an elephant, the wheels of her suitcase slipped from under her sending her crashing to the pavement.

"Ouch," was all Nancy could mutter as she laid on the ground her face red with embarrassment.

"Nancy, are you ok?" a blonde- haired teenager asked as he appeared above her with his hand stretched out.

Nancy rolled her eyes and grabbed his offered hand. "That is a stupid question and you know it Joe Hardy. Of course not, I just fell flat on my ass."

"Arse, Nan, you are in Britain," he replied with an easy smile as he pulled her up.

"Thank you for so aptly pointing that out, Hardy." Nancy smiled. "So where's Frank?"

"Right here. Quite a fall you had, Nancy." Nancy turned around to see the handsomely dark haired, eighteen year old Frank Hardy standing before her with her now upright luggage beside him.

Nancy's grin widened as she threw her arms around her friend. "Frank, I'm so glad to see you guys!"

"I'm glad to see you too, Nan." He returned her embrace before stepping back to take in the girl before him.

"Wow, Nancy, you look awesome."

"Not so bad yourself, Hardy," Nancy replied taking in his toned muscles and precious grin. Frank's eyes lit up at this statement. He was the only man who could give her butterflies.

Nancy now took her own step backwards so she could face both Frank and Joe. The three of them had worked on several cases in the past and she had no doubt why they were in London. "So you guys have been invited to this Sleuthing contest I suppose." She held up her green envelope.

"Why, yes we have but, it seems Miss Drew, that you've lost your touch," Joe stated bluntly.

Nancy narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest. "What do you mean, Joe Hardy?"

"He means you've been sitting here for ages pulling out that envelope and we assumed that had you seen the clue you would've already been long gone. It was right in front of you."

Nancy raised an eyebrow. "Stalking me, eh? Watching me as I sit? Most people would find that unbelievably creepy or rather romantic."

Frank blushed. "Well…"

Nancy stepped forward placing a finger against his lips to quiet him. "I jest Frank, I jest." She grinned feeling Frank squirm at her touch before facing Joe who was trying hard to contain his laughter. "So, oh brilliant Joe Hardy, do show me this oh-so-elusive clue."

"Oh, right out there, the boat in the river—read the side."

Nancy stepped up to the rail allowing the wind to whip at her hair and glanced out at the boat. For the first time that day she noticed the red words painted on the side of the boat:

"_Stage one done but the mystery's just begun. Now move down town to the Pub Ole Crown. Observation has been tested for you and thus you shall move through."_

Nancy buried her head in her hands. "How did I miss that? I've been staring at it all day and oh, I feel so dumb."

"Well you'd have to be dumb or blind not to see that," Joe stated bluntly.

Nancy whipped around gaping briefly before giving Joe a playful shove.

"Whoa, there. No violence. I just saved you from sitting here all day."

Nancy placed a finger on her chin. "I suppose you did. So what are we waiting for? Let's get to that Pub. We don't want to get cut in the first round." Nancy pushed herself off the railing with her heel and brushed by Frank and Joe grabbing her bag as she went.

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Frank Hardy set three mugs of soda down on the back table of the pub. There were several oak tables with five chairs at each in the room. Most were full but a few still had empty seats. _Must be first come gets to go to the mansion_, Frank surmised. It hadn't taken the trio long to find the location as they had asked a street vendor who was more than glad to give them directions.

Frank took a sip from his mug and glanced over at Nancy who was sitting deep in thought across from him. As if sensing his gaze Nancy glanced up, her blue eyes startled as they met his watching ones. She smiled before glancing back down at the table. Frank felt the heat rise in his cheeks and took another swig of his soda. Yes, he and Nancy had always had feelings for each other and that was no secret to anyone with half a brain but they had never acted on them. She had Ned and he had Callie waiting for him back in Bayport.

Joe broke Frank's musings with a nudge. "Hey, Frank, only two seats left. Wonder who gets them."

"Me, too. We look to be the youngest here," he replied noting the tables of adults and seniors. They seemed to be the only teens. Frank turned around in his chair as the door to the room slammed open and two breathless blondes walked in red in the face. One, he noted, had a bright pink cast on her right arm.

Joe moaned, "Man, they're teens too. Two twin teens, that is." He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing correctly and grinned. "One for each arm."

Frank rolled his eyes at his brother's antics. "Don't forget about Vanessa, brother."

Joe glared and then looked at his cup guiltily. "Oh well, one can dream, can't they? Besides Vanessa can't honestly expect me not to be friendly." He glanced back up just in time to see the twins weave their way through the crowd and plop down in the two chairs left at their table.

Nancy, Frank, and Joe looked at each other skeptically as they took in their table mates.

"Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!" a singsong voice broke through the room. All heads immediately turned to face a long table at the head of the room that a plump man was currently standing on. "I see our final two sleuths have finally arrived. Better late then never I always say. I'm dreadfully sorry to inform you all that the other invitees have been disqualified so if you were hoping to see a friend here and they aren't well, here, then you won't be seeing them for a while. However, on a lighter note, you fifty are the crème of the crop, the most observant and will thus continue in your endeavors to solve my case." The pudgy man clapped his hands enthusiastically. "As I am sure many of you have by now figured out, I am Charles Gramgee, owner of this pub and your most humble host. But enough about me, I would like to get to know each of you so could you all please stand when I call your name and give a brief description of yourself and your abilities?"

About three names were called before Nancy's, all of them older. "Nancy Drew."

Nancy stood up. "Hello, I'm Nancy Drew and I've done a lot of sleuthing all over the world. My father is a lawyer and I'm from River Heights." She sat down quickly and whispered to Frank, "I hate public speeches."

The elder hardy smiled broadly. "I could tell."

"Frank Hardy."

Frank stood. "Hello, I'm Frank and this is my brother Joe. We are from Bayport and have done several cases and even solved some with our friend Nancy. I'm really good with computers." He returned to his seat.

"Joe Hardy."

Joe stood up as he fixed his hair with his hand. "That would be me. Frank forgot to mention that I am the brains of the family, the looks of the family, and the charm of the family. That is about all." Joe gave an award-winning smile as Nancy, Frank and the other two girls stifled laughs.

"As if," one mumbled. The other elbowed her in reply but smiled all the same.

_Okay now I'm really curious who they are_. Joe leaned back in his chair and waited until they got to the K's.

"Claire King."

"Hey!" one of the twins said standing up. "Sorry we were so late but our bags got caught in customs and we had to wait for hours. We are sixteen. My sister and I have done a few cases. I would tell you about them but if I did I'd have to kill you," she gave a short laugh that echoed in the silent room. "Umm... anyways. I was just kidding. Only a few of our cases were like that. The last one though was the one that gave me a stupid cast. It all started…"

"It isn't important," the other girl cut in sharply. "I'm Alexis but you can call me Lexi, her twin and we are from Charleston and we are sitting down now." Claire looked a little disappointed but sat down.

"Why didn't you let me tell them about my awesome logic?" Claire pouted.

"Your awesome logic will take hours, Sis." It was Joe's turn to laugh.

Claire cocked an annoyed brow at him. "Don't laugh. How many cases have you been shot on?" Joe stopped chuckling.

"Shot?" Nancy asked joining the conversation.

Claire turned to Nancy with a smile. "Long story but I think we ought to be quiet. It sounds as if our billionaire is through with roll call." Claire turned around to gaze up at the balding man.

"Well, now that we know who is here I would like you to look at the other people sitting at your table. Get to know and like them, they will be your team members. Each team of five will compete to solve the case and will share a room in my large French Mansion."

"Five in a room?" asked a wiry man from another table. "How are we supposed to fit five people in a room?"

Charles chuckled, "My dear Mr. Pentsworth. I am a billionaire. My rooms are quite large so there is no need to worry about space, but I'm afraid to tell you that once you enter my house you will not be allowed to leave until the case is solved." The room broke out in angry and confused whispers.

"Why is that?" Frank spoke up.

"Publicity my boy! Publicity! You will have no contact with the outside world. As far as your families know you are mere statues. No writing, no phone, no nothing!" Then he added as an afterthought, "Unless of course you find a way out that my security guards have yet to find. Now file into the limos. I have one for each group. The details of the case will be given to you there."

There was a rush of seats being pushed back as people got up and headed for the door. "So Nancy Drew, you're on our team. We've read lots about you. You're in our papers all the time. You seem to get around, much more so than us, at least," one of the twins said shaking her hand. "Since we are in a group I might as well tell you how to tell us apart. I'm Lexi and to make it easy my hair is always in a ponytail. Claire on the other hand has about a million styles. You could say her second passion is fashion."

Nancy chuckled. "Sounds like my friend Bess. She loves boys and fashion." She extended her hand, "Pleased to meet you Lexi, and if I'm not mistaken Joe is pretty pleased to meet Claire."

Lexi hung her thumbs out of the back pockets of her low rise pants as she rolled her eyes. "My sister is such a flirt. You can't keep control of her." Her face suddenly fell, "Of course you've got to feel bad for her. She is pretty, as well as smart, and getting shot in the right arm has made school really difficult. She can hardly write. And her boyfriend dumped her. He didn't want a crippled girlfriend."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. That is a horrible reason to break up with something. My fiancé dumped me two weeks ago. He apparently wanted someone who was around more often. He replaced me with a college cheerleader, captain to be exact."

"Ned dumped you and more importantly you guys were engaged? When did this happen? Is this why you were so preoccupied? Are you ok?" Frank asked walking up behind Nancy his face a mixture of concern and anger.

Nancy felt her face grow dark. "Frank, can we please not talk about this now. I'm really trying to move past it." She then smiled. "To the limo, I guess." She brushed past the two sleuths following Joe and Claire out the door. Frank stared after her glumly.

"Hey, don't look so down. She'll talk to you when she's ready. She just needs some time."

Frank glanced down at Lexi who still stood beside him. "How do you know that?"

Lexi shrugged. "I'm a detective; it's my job to know things."

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**Ok, so I said I'd redo these chapters and then move forward so I'm finally starting. I'm sorry about the delay but it won't happen again. I know many of you thought I had died but I am back and back with a vengance. So I hope you like it!**

**Much luv,**

**Political Blonde**


	2. Gramgee Manor

**Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. I do; however, own Claire and Lexi. They actually come from my own mystery series which some day I may post on fiction press. If I ever do I'll let you guys know. But getting back on track, here is chapter two of my revised chapters. I really hope you enjoy it.**

**Much luv,**

**Political Blonde**

**This chapter was BETA read by msnancydrew; I thank her and you should too. So please, if you review, thank her for her hard work.**

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Ch.2 Gramgee Manor

Nancy hated where she was sitting between Lexi and Frank. It was the absolute last place she needed to be at the moment. She could feel Frank's body heat through her baby-blue blazer and every time he shifted she could feel him brush against her skirt. But, perhaps, the worst part was that she could feel his breath tickle her cheek every time he sighed.

Nancy sighed to herself as Claire finally got into the car; she and Joe had had a hard time letting go of their cell phones and had argued with the large man collecting the phones until he had agreed to get a sealed bag, place them inside of the bags, tape the bags shut, and then have the owners sign the bags. If the signature was ripped when they returned, they would know the bag had been opened and their phones potentially used.

Joe closed the door to the limo behind him and buckled his belt as a small TV screen lowered from the ceiling and the car gave a great lurch. The five sleuths looked expectantly at the screen, eager to see their next clue.

There were a few moments of gray and black static before the billionaire from the pub appeared on the screen. He was a plump man with a deep purple suit and dark brown curls, clearly in his thirties who seemed to have a permanent smile. He gave a dramatic cough and leaned back on a desk before speaking in his sing song manner.

"Well, I must say I am positively overjoyed with the fact that you have made it so far in my little mystery. I am Charles Gramgee as I'm sure I'll tell you—excuse me—told you in the pub and I have quite the mystery for you. But first off, let's get through some necessary information. You five are group number 4 out of ten groups. You, of course, along with the other groups will be staying at my beautiful and highly expensive manor which has been in the family since it was built some 400 years ago by my great, great, great, great, well very great and very old Grandfather Henry Gramgee." He pushed off the desk and circled behind it to sit down in a chair.

"Ah, Henry Gramgee, the man at the crux of this little mystery. You see, Henry, bless his heart, was a very lucky man in his day and a fine Captain. He circumnavigated the world twice and in doing so built up a large stash of gold and other foreign trinkets which he called his treasure. This treasure was to be passed on through the family along with the Gramgee Manor but Henry never made anything easy. You see, he figured that since he had to accumulate his treasure through hard work and adventure anyone who wanted it after him needed to do the same. So he hid the treasure somewhere on the estate and created a map to the location which he hid with greatest care. Even in death he wanted his treasure protected. Despite the work of many of my ancestors, this map remained hidden until a few years ago when my Grandmother came across it. At the time I was in India on business and could not be reached and my Grandmother's health was failing. Knowing she would be unable to retrieve the treasure and with no idea when I'd return, she hid the map. Her only clues to the whereabouts of the map are contained in a letter, a copy of which may be found in an envelope under your seat along with other important papers needed to solve this case." The man leaned back in the chair, his permanent smile widening.

"With that said, I must wish you all good luck in your endeavor to solve this case and remind you that once inside the Manor you will not, and I repeat, not be able to leave the grounds or contact anyone outside the manor. It is of the greatest importance that this investigation remains secret for security reasons. Well, I thank you all and good night."

The screen went black and retracted into the ceiling slowly. Joe gave a low whistle. "Treasure, that's interesting. I wonder how much it's worth."

"I guess we'll just have to solve this case and find out," Claire answered with a laugh. "Sounds fun, don't you agree, Lexi?"

Lexi nodded. "Yes, it does sound fun. Now, how about checking out those papers?" She reached beneath the seat and felt around for the packet for a moment before sitting up, a manila envelope in her right hand. "So who wants to do the honors?"

"I'll do it," Frank answered grabbing the packet from her hand. "Let's see what we've got in here." He undid the back clasp and slid out three papers. "Well, the first is a picture of an old woman, his grandmother most likely. Second, we have a paper with our room assignments. We're on the third floor. And lastly we have the copy of the letter Grandmother Gramgee left for Charles. It reads:

'Dear Charles,

I am sorry to say I feel weaker by each day. I fear that my time is short and I may not make it to Christmas. But I will try. My nurse, Loretta, says that I will be perfectly well and capable of attending this year's Christmas reunion but I can tell. Every time she reassures me her eyes water up and her voice quavers. I will not lie as she does. I am going to die. There is no fighting it, no changing it. I must accept it but I want you to know that I am still thinking about you. Now you must read and read everything I am about to say and only tell those you trust about it. Greed is strong, very strong. As a child you may remember me telling you about Henry Gramgee, the founder of this estate and his elusive treasure. While your father may have told you this was just some legend cooked up by a family wishing to remain important, I must say it isn't fake; it is all true. On the castle grounds there is a treasure buried some four hundred years ago by your great, great, great, great, great, great, great Grandfather Henry Gramgee and never dug up again. Your ancestors searched and searched for it with no luck. The grounds were too vast and the hiding places too many. But recently in my searches I came across a map. I truly desired to use it to find the treasure but in my health I was unable to and Loretta started becoming suspicious so I was forced to hide the map where only one well versed in the history of the family could find it.

Your loving grandmother,

Annelise Beauregard Gramgee'"

Frank finished the letter and looked up at the other occupants of the limo. He ran a hand through his dark hair. "It seems we have quite the mystery on our hands."

Nancy murmured her agreement. "This is just like when we were on the Mystery Train. I just hope it goes a little better than that did." Frank and Joe nodded at that statement.

Lexi looked at the trio questioningly. "The Mystery Train? What is that?"

"What _was_ that, you mean. It was one of our first cases we worked on together. It was also a contest where numerous sleuths were invited to find a stolen diamond. The reward was twenty-five grand so needless to say things got heated," Joe explained.

"Yeah, and we were supposed to be competing against each other then," Frank added.

"But we didn't do that so well. We can't help but help each other. We make an awesome team," Nancy finished with a laugh.

"Sounds cool. Well, if you guys do make such a great team than it's a good thing you're on the same one." Claire smiled, "We'll just have to try and keep up."

"That shouldn't be too much of a problem, sister dearest. We work with each other all the time and we never agree."

"Except for on important things which…"

"Is everything that isn't fashion or boy related," They finished in unison.

Nancy laughed. "Well you guys seem to know about me and now you know a little about the three of us but how about a bit more about you?"

Claire looked thoughtful. "There really isn't much to tell. This is a bit of a learning experience for us. We've really just gotten started and most of our cases have been very hush-hush. We got started when our friend Julia was kidnapped. We couldn't just sit around and do nothing especially having read all about your cases in the paper and having a mother who writes mystery novels. That was probably our hardest case, just getting the hang of things was difficult and picking locks…"

"That is something easier said than done. Needless to say, I got enough failed practice to be a pro now," Lexi finished.

"Our last case was our first encounter with a life threatening scenario. I got locked in a room with a mad man, embezzlement documents, and a gun." She held up her arm in a cast. "Needless to say things didn't go as well as they could have. I got a shot to the arm that shattered my elbow."

"It was a pretty close shot too. I was listening in and it scared the hell out of me when I heard the shot and then heard nothing."

"Wow, we've had a few close calls ourselves. We'll just have to hope we don't have any during this case," Nancy commented.

"Yeah, so about this case, we've got a hidden treasure and a hidden map, what else do we know so far?" Joe asked.

"Well, we know that the treasure is on the grounds and that the map is hidden somewhere an old woman would consider. Guess we have to think like her," Lexi replied.

"Shouldn't be too hard to pretend to be her. But we have to figure out what was wrong with her," Nancy commented.

"You're right—it could come in handy. Depending on her condition we will get an idea of where she could and couldn't hide the map," Frank noted running a hand through his dark hair. The five sleuths sat silent.

"Oh my gosh!" gasped Claire suddenly pressing her face to the window. The other sleuths followed her gaze out the window of the limo. "That place is huge!" They were just pulling through the large iron gates of the Gramgee Manor. Far above them they could see a castle perched carefully on a steep cliff. Claire's eyes were glued to the window taking in every tree they passed.

The rest of the group shifted to see out the limo windows. Nancy squinted into the darkness determined to become acquainted with the grounds of the estate. A light flashed in the distance and Nancy blinked in surprise. _What was that?_ Nancy squinted in order to get a second look into the deep of the forest. She could have sworn she had seen a flashlight out there. Suddenly the car jerked to a stop and the doors were yanked open. She had been so intent on seeing that she hadn't realized she was leaning on Frank and Lexi was leaning on her.

As the door swung open the three detectives fell clumsily to the ground. Nancy was stuck on top of Frank who seemed to be caught like a deer in headlights. Nancy blushed and quickly helped Lexi untangle herself from the mess so that she too could get out. Standing up Nancy mumbled, "Sorry Frank," and looked quickly around. "What was that about?"

Claire and Joe shrugged as they pushed themselves off the ground across from the trio. It was freezing on the estate and the dark trees made Nancy feel as if she was walking through a cemetery. Claire gave an involuntary shudder.

Joe looked around at the dark trees and back at the iron gate, which was being locked by two burly guards. They both glanced at the teens tugging a thick chain to ensure it was secure before turning and walking away into a concrete building. It was so cold outside and he swore he could hear Claire's teeth chattering. A scraping noise interrupted the silence. Joe turned to see the trunk of the limo open and tip dumping their luggage all over the gravel.

Just as quickly it retracted and the limo shot away up the hill. "They ditched us!" Joe cried his mouth dropping in shock.

"Why would they do a thing like that? I mean it feels like the temperature is just shy of say thirty," Lexi remarked bending down to pick up her sports bag.

"How come no one else is out here?" Nancy asked trying to hide the fact that her teeth were chattering. "I don't think that was meant to happen."

"Oh it was meant to happen. I'm just not sure if Mr. Billionaire was the one who wanted it to happen," Frank replied grabbing his bag. He unzipped it carefully and pulled out a leather jacket. Joe did the same and they both donned them.

Lexi unzipped her own bag and removed her own blazer. "Next time I'm packing a thicker jacket. I'm still freezing." She hopped in her blue and red jacket to fight the chill.

"Yes well, next time I'll pack a jacket." Claire grumbled rubbing her bare arms. "It wasn't this cold earlier."

Joe laughed shoving his hands into his pockets. "Lesson 1, always be prepared. We were."

Claire pouted and rolled her eyes. "I'll try to remember that. So how about-" Claire was cut off by a loud crunch in the woods near them.

The group immediately stopped laughing. "What was that?" Lexi whispered.

"Don't know. It came from somewhere over there." Frank pointed in the direction Nancy had seen the light.

"I thought I saw a light in that direction when we were driving in. I think we're being spied on."

"Arrrgh!" A scream cut through the silence.

"Ok. Now that is a little freaky," Lexi muttered.

"I think someone's hurt. Spy or not we have to help," Claire said to no one in particular. She reached into her bag and pulled out two flashlights. Tossing one to Joe she motioned for Lexi to do the same.

Lexi pulled two flashlights from her bag and tossed one to Frank. Nancy pulled out her own. "Stick together as best you can. It won't do us any good to get lost in these woods," Nancy warned. Nodding, the group silently trudged through the woods in the direction of the scream.

Joe trained his beam of light back and forth across the forest floor for about ten minutes before turning to his companions. "I really think we need to form two groups. We'll cover more ground that way."

Claire nodded in agreement. "How about you and Frank go that way and the three of us will stick to this direction. Ok?"

"Ok," Frank replied and he and Joe headed off in the direction Claire had pointed. Nancy shined her flashlight in a circle. She suddenly had a very uneasy feeling. Shaking it she, Claire, and Lexi continued forward.

"Nancy, you'd consider yourself an experienced detective right?" Lexi asked out of nowhere.

Nancy was startled. "Yeah. Why?"

"Just curious." She shook her head from side to side and continued on. They finally came to a part of the woods where the trees became closer and the air grew thick with darkness. Nancy's uneasiness grew.

A crack echoed through the woods ahead of them and Nancy froze causing Lexi and Claire to bump into her lightly. "Shut off your flashlights," she hissed quietly dousing her own light. Lexi and Claire did so immediately.

"Do you think it could be Frank and Joe?" Claire whispered her voice so quiet that for a moment Nancy wasn't sure she had really spoken.

"It could be but I don't think so. They went the other way and we haven't circled around yet. No, I think our spy is somewhere in front of us." Nancy grabbed Lexi's and Claire's sports bags. "Stay close and stay silent."

Nancy couldn't see them in the darkness but she was sure the twins had nodded. Stepping cautiously forward as to not make any noise Nancy looked around through the mist and fog, the twins one step behind her. Cautiously she placed one foot in front of the other not daring to breathe.

"WHAT!" the three girls yelled as the ground beneath them suddenly ceased to exist and they toppled into a muddy hole. It would have been okay if someone else had not been their too, someone who wasn't moving.

* * *

**Now how is that for a cliffie? Well I really hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it because lord knows I had fun writing this one but I had even more fun writing the next one in the first place so revising it should be interesting. On another note I am doing a little dance here as I'm writing because I just won Courting Disaster and Buried in Time off of ebay so I am hoping I get them soon. I need my dose of supermysteries. I'm really excited because Courting Disaster takes place in both places I've lived during my life so it'll be interesting to see what is fictional and what is real. Anyways, keep your fingers crossed for me and pray that I didn't buy from some shallow scammer. I'm also going to bid on 23 Nancy Drew books later so keep your fingers crossed on that too. Well, I'm going to revise and read.**

**Much luv,**

**Political Blonde**


	3. A Poetic Death

**To Whom It May Concern (aka, you):**

**Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. I do; however, own Claire and Lexi. They actually come from my own mystery series which some day I may post on fiction press. If I ever do I'll let you guys know.**

**Much luv,**

**Political Blonde**

**PS: **

**This chapter was BETA read by msnancydrew; I thank her and you should too. So please, if you review, thank her for her hard work.**

* * *

Ch.3 A Poetic Death

Lexi was the first to regain her senses and she immediately let the others know she had with a very high pitched and blood curdling scream. She pushed away from the corpse, slipping and sliding in the mud, causing Nancy and Claire to be pushed into the goop several times before they could properly breathe.

"It is a dead body!" Claire gasped frantically backing away from the corpse as mud slipped through her fingers.

"I believe we know that," Lexi snapped.

"It's so yucky!" Claire squealed trying to put more distance between her and the corpse but failing miserably.

"Shut up you two! The corpse isn't the only person here, remember? Where is a flashlight?" Nancy grumbled trying to feel for the desired object while avoiding the corpse. Her fingers met only mud.

"Here's one, I think. Eww, never mind! It's this person's hand."

"Here we go—I'm sure this is one," replied Lexi's voice. Suddenly a small circle of light surrounded the three muddy girls. Claire plugged her nose looking as if she was about to puke as she rolled over the dead body.

Two large brown eyes stared unblinkingly up at them. Claire, shuddering, pointed at a knife sticking out of his head with what appeared to be a piece of paper tied to it. Nancy searched for her bag in the mud and upon finding it pulled out a plastic glove and a zip lock bag. No matter how ill she felt sitting in a hole with a corpse she still needed to do this right the first time. She grimaced as she pulled off the note and read it, her blue eyes wide.

Curious, Lexi and Claire looked over her shoulder. In deep red letters was written:

A pity he is already done,

But he is only number one,

There are, I suppose, still a ton,

That'll go just for my fun,

And when you all in fear do run,

You'll meet a dead end, a true pun,

And whether you be daughter or son,

You will inevitably meet with the end of my gun!

"Whoever wrote that must be completely twisted," Lexi hissed her nose wrinkled and caked with brown goop.

Nancy glanced at her and nodded. "And that psycho could be watching us right now and we're in no position to defend ourselves."

"I think we should alert the Hardys before they meet with the end of his gun or before we meet with it." Lexi gave an involuntary shudder. "I believe we have found what we were looking for," she added. The others nodded.

Claire reached into her pocket and pulled out a whistle. "I really hope they hear this," she mumbled before taking in a large breath and blowing sharply three times on the whistle.

* * *

Frank sighed as he ran his flashlight back and forth across the forest floor staring intently at every rock and twig searching for some sign of their spy. "So Joe, what's your opinion of Claire and Lexi so far?"

Joe's circle of light bounced as he shrugged. "They're fine I guess. A little hyper and they seem like they have a ton to learn about sleuthing. The fact that they're new at this may get in our way."

"Yeah, I was thinking that too but we all had to start somewhere."

"Too true, but I will give them this, they are cute." Joe gave a smug grin. "I'm glad we're with them rather than someone wrinkly and old."

"Joe-"

"Not that I have anything against seniors. So, did you ever find out why Nancy was so out of it this morning?"

Frank sighed. "I don't know for sure but I believe it had something to do with the fact that she broke up with Ned two weeks ago. I overheard her telling Lexi about it. Apparently she and Ned got engaged and she wasn't home enough so they broke it off."

Joe whistled. "Wow, Nancy engaged and then broken up with Ned. A lot has happened since we last saw her. But I guess that's a good thing for you. Nancy's finally free."

Frank closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Joe," he warned, "there is nothing between Nancy and I. We're just friends. I've got-"

"Callie," Joe had stopped and his arms were crossed. "I know, you've got Callie but to be honest I don't like her. She is always on your case about leaving for cases and on mine for taking you with me."

"Joe, we've been over this before. She's just worried about me."

"She isn't worried about you. She's worried you'll leave her. Why else would she be pushing you to propose to her?" Joe retorted.

"She isn't pushing anything onto me," Frank replied opening his eyes.

"Really, what about-?" Joe never finished his sentence.

"What!" A soft scream like yell was heard in the distance.

Frank put his hand up to silence Joe. "Did you hear that? It sounded like someone yelling," he whispered. Joe nodded his demeanor becoming less irritable.

"Ahhhh!" another shriek pierced the forest.

"Let's go. That might be the girls!" Frank and Joe whipped around in the direction of the scream and ran forward, their argument temporarily forgotten.

Bushes and low branches tore at Frank as he weaved in and out of the rows of trees. _What had happened? Were the girls all right? Was Nancy alright?_ He couldn't shake the uneasiness he felt and he began calling out the girls' names. "Nancy! Claire! Lexi! Where are you?" He could hear Joe behind him doing the same. But their only response was three sharp whistles.

The brothers turned to the left slightly and ran towards it, terrible thoughts still crossing Frank's mind. "Where are you guys?" Joe yelled loudly behind him.

"Slow down! If you don't you'll end up like us!" That was Nancy's voice. Frank stopped immediately, causing Joe to run into his back. Slowly they made their way forward, their flashlights illuminating the forest floor.

"Look. There's a hole up there," Joe whispered in his ear. Frank sped up to a brisk pace and came to stop at the edge of the pit. Nancy's frightened aqua eyes looked up at him and his breath caught in his throat.

"We found you," Frank gasped as relief swept through Nancy's eyes causing him to let loose the worried breath he'd been holding. Her clothes clung to her and her hair lay matted against her face.

"Thank God you came so quickly. We found the source of the commotion." She pointed one muddy arm at the dead body.

"We more like landed on him. It was disgusting," Lexi added. Frank noticed the body for the first time and grimaced.

"Well, it seems people are taking this competition way too seriously."

"You mean they're dead serious?" Joe asked with a grin.

Claire looked at Joe like he had grown a second head. "Not funny. A guy is dead and whoever did it is out to kill us all!" Claire whispered her voice quavering. "They left us a note. A threat per say."

Both the Hardys now faced her with questioning looks but it was Lexi who spoke. "We found this note on the corpse. It's a poem from the killer. It reads:

A pity he is already done,

But he is only number one,

There are, I suppose still a ton,

That'll go just for my fun,

And when you all in fear do run,

You'll meet a dead end, a true pun,

And whether you be daughter or son,

You will inevitably meet with the end of my gun!" Lexi shuddered as she finished.

Frank knelt beside the hole. "Is there anything else on him?"

"Give us a moment to check." The girls, though quite disgusted, rolled the body over searching for other clues.

"Here we go!" Nancy said suddenly. She pulled a note from his hand that was covered with the same red scrawl.

"Number One

Ahh yes you are number one,

you man of dirty hair

I see you wish I'd end my fun

So you'd no longer despair!

So run I order, flee I say

My, the chase is most enticing

The suspense a joyous thing

But I promise, my knife will come slicing

Moments before you utter your last breath!"

"So let me get this straight. We're not even through day one of this competition and we've already got a corpse and a crazed killer who writes poetry." Joe had the decency to look disgusted.

"Umm well, in that case I've found our next clue. It was on the back of his overall warning," Claire gasped pointing to the paper in Lexi's hand. She abruptly yet fearfully read it.

"Number Two

You are cordially invited to your death

My victim number two

As I have grown tired of your wasted breath

And decided to murder you

Psycho I am and mad I'll be

But over your shoulder you'll still look

In hopes of evading me.

But alas, so much like a book

You will abruptly come to an end

For a shot to the head

You yourself can't defend

When you're snug and asleep in your bed!"

The group looked at each other with wide eyes. Their killer was starting to sound like a serial killer.

* * *

**Like I said I'm rewritting. As you may have noticed Lisa became Lexi. This is because Lexi and Claire are from an original series I'm writing and I changed her name in that so her name needed to be changed here for consistancy. Well, enjoy rereading.**

**Much luv,**

**Political Blonde**


	4. Nightly Escapades

**To Whom It May Concern (aka, you):**

**Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. I do; however, own Claire and Lexi. They actually come from my own mystery series which some day I may post on fiction press. If I ever do I'll let you guys know.**

**Much luv,**

**Political Blonde**

**PS: **

**This chapter was BETA read by msnancydrew; I thank her and you should too. So please, if you review, thank her for her hard work.**

* * *

Ch.4 Nightly Escapades

"That was a lot further than it looked," grumbled Claire as she and the other sleuths stepped out of the woods and onto the sprawling lawns of the manor. Several lights could be seen in the windows. "It looks like everyone else is already here. I guess we were the only ones who were thrown out. Just great!" Frustrated, she blew some stray hairs from her face, causing bits of mud to fall from her face.

"Yeah I s'pose you're right," commented Lexi as she stepped out of the woods, carrying Joe's bags. Nancy was carrying Frank's.

"Do you guys think it was a good idea to leave those two out there with the dead body?" Claire asked as she shifted her own bag.

Nancy sighed. "I've been on plenty of cases with those two and believe me, if anyone can survive a night alone in the woods, it's those two."

"So how many cases have you guys been on together other than the Mystery Train?" Claire asked curiously.

"We've worked on tons of cases and been to plenty of places including Paris, Egypt, New Orleans, and Charleston. And I know they can survive a night out in the woods because we once had to do that and that was a huge disaster because the woods caught on fire. We ended up riding a river down to escape the flames."

Lexi gave a low whistle. "Charleston? As in Charleston, South Carolina?" Nancy nodded in confirmation. "Wow, that's where we're from. We must have been out of town when that occurred because we never heard about you being there. We've been to Paris before but never to Egypt. We're mostly involved in cases that are domestic but when we get the occasional call from our friends in the CIA. We are completely pumped to get out there and start sleuthing."

"Paris, is really pretty but I prefer Egypt."

Claire looked up, "How come?"

Nancy blushed and prayed to herself that the two girls couldn't see her in the darkness. "It was just a bit more fun. My friend Bess and I had to pose as Frank and Joe's wives for a while. It was part of our cover."

"Let me guess—you and Frank?" Nancy nodded. "I thought so."

"Why?"

"Well it would make since wouldn't it?" Lexi mused.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lexi merely chuckled but whatever answer she may have given was cut off by Claire.

"So do we tell the others about the body or not?"

Nancy looked up to see that they had arrived at the front door. "No, we wait for the boys."

Claire shrugged, "Whatever you say. Who has the key?"

"I do," answered Lexi, pulling the small brass object from her pocket and inserting it into the rusty doorknob.

* * *

"Dear lord! You would think this guy would have enough money to insert an elevator or two," whined Claire as she threw the bags down on the bed. The room had two large king sized beds covered in moss green linens. The room also contained a desk, a book shelf, several chairs, a fireplace, floor to ceiling windows, and a crystal chandelier. Clearly the room cost money.

"I completely agree," replied Lexi letting her bag and Joe's crash to the floor before falling back into a lumpy green and gold lounge chair.

"Well, I think that we should clean up a bit and then check this place out," Nancy said.

"You read my mind, Miss Drew. We need to get down to business." Lexi said her eyes closed.

"Great!" Nancy answered as she pulled her dirty hair into a ponytail and unzipped her bag to search for a pair of clean clothes and new shoes.

Claire reached into her own luggage and pulled out a black pair of sweats and a black sweatshirt. "I think it would be best if we made ourselves as invisible as possible. Anyone here could be the murderer and anyone, including one of us, could be the next victim. I don't think it wise to make ourselves easy targets."

"Good idea, sis. Let me help you with your sleeve."

"Thanks."

Nancy searched through her bag until she found a pair of black sneakers and a pair of black pajama bottoms. "Do either of you have a shirt I can borrow?"

"Let me check," Lexi answered as she pulled out her own clothes. "Err… sorry Nancy but no."

"Oh, well, thanks anyways."

"Why don't you go through the Hardys' bags? I'm sure they'll have something," Claire called from the restroom.

"Good idea. They won't mind." Nancy unzipped the first bag and sifted through. Judging from the vast amount of grooming products this was Joe's. Nancy blushed as she stumbled across a pair of boxers. "Oops." After sifting through the bag a moment longer Nancy pulled out a long sleeved black shirt. It would be a bit big and she would have to roll up the sleeves but it would still work.

Changing into the sleuthing attire, Nancy watched as Lexi pulled out a small watch from her bag and then removed one from her shoe and another from her belt. She put one on and handed the other to Claire who had emerged from the bathroom with a muddy towel before walking up to Nancy. "This is a watch we received from the CIA for our last case. We have six of them and decided it would be best to bring them all. There are small microchips in each of them that measure pulse ratings and give off a small beep when the pulse rate of someone else wearing one of the watches changes drastically. They also work as walkie talkies by pushing this small button on the side." She handed it to Nancy. "Based on past experiences this is a good device to carry around because you never know when you'll need it."

Nancy nodded causing her ponytail to bounce. "I guess my earrings aren't needed then." Lexi chuckled and Nancy couldn't help but smile.

"I see we're not the only ones involved with the CIA."

"Well, that's convenient. That means we'll have more gadgets between us, and the CIA always has the best" Claire walked over to the two with her watch gleaming on her hand.

"So how many stories do you think there are to this house?"

"I counted seven rows of windows but with this being a castle we can almost bet on a basement or dungeon and most likely an attic," answered Nancy seriously.

"So, I'll start at the top, Nancy can start at the bottom, and Claire you can start right here on this floor." She looked down at her watch. "We'll meet back here at 2:00Am. If one of us doesn't make it and doesn't call in, then the other two are to stay here until the boys return or until morning comes, whichever is first, and at that time we will commence a search. Is that all right with you two?" Both girls nodded. "Well, then I will see you two in four hours," Lexi finished as she opened the door and stepped out into the darkened hallway.

* * *

"No luck with the mud. How are the bushes coming along Joe?" Frank asked as he pulled himself out of the pit. He was covered in mud and his face was sweaty. He pulled off his shirt and set it on the ground in hopes of cooling off some.

Joe glanced up briefly from the thorny rose bush he had been examining and smiled. "You know Frank; I'm the only one here. Nancy isn't here to appreciate those muscles and well, quite frankly, I'm not like that so there is no reason to be stripping."

Frank glared. "Joe we're not bringing that back up."

"Why not, brother? We were having such a nice conversation earlier." Joe turned back to his bushes his anger from earlier returning now that his fearful adrenaline was wearing off.

"Because I said so."

Joe gritted his teeth and turned back to Frank. "Because you say so? Frank you don't rule the world; you can't make decisions for me. If I want to bring this up I will."

"Yes, well I won't be a part of it. I have Callie and that is final." Frank irritated, scrunched up his sweaty shirt and tossed it at Joe.

Joe pulled the shirt off his face with a disgusted look. "You know you stink, don't you?"

"Why do you think I took it off?"

"I'll take that as a yes." Joe threw his hands up in disgust. "I'm having zero luck. Quite frankly, I think we're going to have to come back in the morning. Even if there was something here it would be near impossible to find in this light or lack thereof."

"So then let's just go up to the house."

"Sounds like a plan but umm… how will we find this area again?"

"Give me your beeper."

Joe turned around. "My beeper? Why?"

"Well, yours has a timer on it. We can just set it to loud and then set it for say noontime tomorrow and when it rings we'll follow the sound back here."

Joe hesitantly removed his beeper. "Fine, but if my beeper gets lost you are fronting the money for a new one."

* * *

Nancy sighed and pushed her reddish blonde hair out of her face. There had been nothing in the basement aside from old wine barrels and cobwebs. Her allergies were not very happy. She emerged noiselessly into the darkened kitchen and began sorting through cupboards. She was a bit disheartened at only finding some expensive china and no clues.

She turned and examined the island. On top was a coffeepot and it looked like someone had set it to start a pitcher of coffee for 7:00am. Someone was planning on getting an early start but aside from that all was normal.

Next was the dining room. Now this was a spooky place. There was one long table at which all guests could sit, running the length of the room and a large stone fireplace just behind the head chair. Periodically throughout the room were eight suits of armor pushed up against the walls. Nancy glanced over these but refrained from touching them in case she caused too much noise. Nancy was again frustrated as she realized that this room would have to wait until morning.

She pushed opened the large double doors and cringed as they screeched. Nancy prayed no one upstairs had heard that. She was now in the front room and it was 1:00am. She walked over to a bookshelf in the far corner and glanced over the titles. There was nothing extraordinary about them; they were just classic mystery novels.

Nancy turned and picked up a phone off the neighboring desk. She held it up to her ear and was a bit dismayed to find that there was no dial tone. Nancy set it down just as something behind her squeaked. Nancy immediately dropped to the floor behind the sofa to avoid detection. She waited silently as two pairs of footsteps crossed the room and bumped into the furniture.

Nancy closed her eyes and held her breath. They were getting close. And as if on cue they met her. Whoever it was bumped their foot against her side and fell forward landing on top of her. Nancy could feel the large person's breath on the back of her neck and she rolled over under their weight just as the lights turned on. Nancy gasped. She was staring into the dirty face of a very shirtless and rather red Frank Hardy. It was then Nancy realized that his hand was in a rather awkward spot.

* * *

**Dear Reader,**

**N/F moment much? Don't worry there'll be more; however, for those of you who hate N/F this isn't a flluff fic. There is a mystery going on here that will be solved. I can also promise that this will NOT be a fic where Nancy and Frank are both free and OMGlove each other and get together.That isn't normal. They've got a long road to go just as all normal people do. I hope you enjoyed and I'd love to hear your reviews. This is my first N/F fic and I need all the constructive comments I can get.**

**Much luv,**

**Political Blonde**


	5. Timmy Bass

**Disclaimer: I don't own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, though I wish I did. I do, however, own Lexi and Claire and the unique details of this plot. So don't use them without asking. If you ask I probably won't say no. **

**A/N I really hope you liked the last chapter and I give many thanks to my reviewers. You guys rock! I also ask that when you review you thank msnancydrew my amazing BETA reader for her wonderful work.**

**Much luv,**

**Politicalblonde**

* * *

**Ch.5 Timmy Bass**

Claire pushed open the door to the room. She was now checking doors on the fourth floor and had been shocked to run across the maid suites. Most of the residents had been startled by her appearance but were quick to ask if she needed Aspirin or some sort of painkiller for her arm. Claire had kindly shook her head no but inside she was seething. Claire absolutely hated pity. Claire had had this occur four times now and needless to say she was quite glad that the inhabitant of room 405 wasn't home. After a few moments of picking the lock with her hairpin, which was made much harder by her useless arm, Claire had been excited to hear the small click of a lock coming undone.

Upon entering Claire quickly shut and locked the door behind her. It was a small room, much smaller than her team's but it was still nicely furnished. She could make out a canopy bed in the inky darkness. The moonlight was casting shadows through the open window. She walked over and quickly shut the curtains before turning to a bedside table and turning a lamp on low. The room filled with a golden glow.

Ahh, this was much better. Now she could clearly see the contents of the room. Claire tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear and took a look around. There was a wallet sitting on the table beside the lamp and deciding it might be useful to know who normally dwelled in this room she picked it up and opened it. The first thing inside was a British Driver's License for a Mr. Timmy Bass. Claire flipped past this and was just examining a couple of credit cards when her hand paused.

She flipped back to the driver's license and examined the picture. The man in the picture had dark hair and bushy eyebrows. His eyes were brown and there was a bit of a beard on his chin. Claire's eyes grew wide and her hand drifted to her open mouth. Timmy Bass was their victim!

She shuddered and turned around slipping the wallet into her sweatshirt pocket. She now noticed several pictures on the walls. They all pictured Timmy his smile wide, a tall dark haired woman, and a small infant it's eyes sleepy and confused. Claire felt positively ill. This man had a family, a family that would never see him alive again. Claire walked up to one of the photos and ran a hand along the infant's face and felt a tear roll down her cheek. It was dusty.

Claire hated this part of being a detective. She hated figuring out that the dead ones had families. She always wished that they were just some lazy bums who worked at the local McDonalds but more time then not they had families. Claire had cried before and for the first couple of times Lexi had comforted her but eventually Lexi had changed. She no longer was fazed by the background of a victim and hardly ever showed any emotion for or sympathy when confronting the families. Lexi wanted nothing more than to eventually work full time for the CIA as an operative in the field and knew they were always watching, looking for someone who could forget emotion.

Claire turned back around and sifted through s solid wood wardrobe. The contents were simple really. There were several button-up shirts and some jackets but nothing out of the ordinary. She shut the door quietly and turned to the dresser. Claire slid open a few of the drawers searching for something out of the ordinary. Her checks turned a cherry red when she sifted through the underwear drawer; nothing but $5.00 in there.

She turned around on her tennis-shoes and returned to the bedside table. The alarm clock now read 1:45 in blaring green numbers and Claire cursed. She had about five more minutes of sleuthing time before she would need to head back. She hastily opened the top drawer. In the drawer was a crossword book, which she pulled out and looked under. There were some pens in there as well but nothing of interest. Claire sighed and returned the contents to the drawer before reaching up and shutting off the light. With that done she turned to leave the now dark room.

HHHH

"Pardon me Mam! I'm Lexi King and I was just wondering what floor I am on because I sleep walk and well I ended up here but I don't exactly know where here is?" Lisa explained to the old woman who had stuck her head out of the door of room 706. The twin had caused quite a raucous when she tripped over her sneakers and tumbled to the floor of the hall. It hadn't taken the woman long to thrust her horse like neck and head into the hall. She was a rather wiry old woman with large almond eyes and her hair tucked up into a tight bun. How it hadn't been mussed by sleep Lexi couldn't help but wonder.

She wasn't too happy at being woken up so late or so early to be exact and judging from the grumbling in the room neither were her roommates. The elderly woman sniffed and wrinkled her nose. "Well, Miss King you're on floor number seven! And don't you think for a minute that I believe your silly story about sleepwalking! Your attire is hardly pajamas. I don't want you making any more noise up here with your pathetic games."

"My games, Mrs.?"

"Mrs. Mabby, Mabby Wiyy-Fap! As if you weren't aware of that already. I'm a best –seller, everyone knows who I am." She glared through squinted eyes. "Now you get back down to your room and get in bed. I can't believe the nerve you have playing your little flirt games up on this floor where civilized people dwell! But then again all you Valley girls have one thing on your minds don't you?" She sneered.

Lexi was taken aback by the woman's rude remarks. "Well, Mrs. Wiyy-Fap I'm not a Valley girl and I was sleepwalking. That or I have a sudden case of amnesia! I fell asleep reading and I don't remember changing into my pajamas. That explains my attire. Not that it should matter to you!" The woman looked murderous but Lexi continued in her rant. "Well, now that I have had the horrendous pleasure of making your acquaintance I WILL be heading back to my room!" Lexi turned on her heel and headed for the stairs. "Oh and tell your roommates to stop their grumbling. It was an accident." She could hear the woman huff behind her before slamming the door loudly shut. Lexi breathed a sigh of relief. This had been the first person she had run into and Lexi sincerely hoped she was the last. Lexi didn't know if she could take meeting others like Mrs. Mabby Wiyy-Fapp.

She looked down at her watch and noted the time to be 1:46am. She needed to head back to the room now. She felt her way along the stairwell wall and counted the doorknobs her hand hit until she was sure she was on the third floor. Opening this door she crossed the darkened hall to the door of her group's room and opened it. Claire was already inside and she looked very frantic.

HHHHH

Nancy felt the heat seep its way into her cheeks and her breath caught in her throat. "Frank?" she gasped her eyes wide with surprise. She could feel his breath warming her face and his dark eyes were merely inches from hers. "Frank." She said again.

This seemed to snap him out of his own stupor and he jumped quickly to his feet. "Oops, Nan, are you ok?"

"Just a bit dirty and I jammed my elbow into the sofa but that's what I get for being a speed bump," she joked lightly sincerely hoping the heat in her cheeks would go unnoticed by the well toned detective.

Frank's face grew worried. "I'm sorry Nancy but what were you doing down there?"

"Hiding," she answered propping herself up on her elbows. "I was actually doing some investigating when I heard the door open. I thought it would perhaps be a good idea to hide not knowing it was you." She gave a wry smile. "So when are one of you gentlemen going to help me up?"

Joe laughed from somewhere behind Frank. "Frank, you're losing your touch with the ladies. How could you leave poor Nancy on the ground after you used her as a speed bump?"

Frank rolled his eyes and extended his hand to Nancy who graciously took it. He pulled her up quickly. "Sorry about that."

"It's no problem really."

Joe stepped forward now. He was nowhere near as muddy as Frank. "Hey isn't that my shirt?"

Nancy looked down at his obviously too big shirt. "Why yes it is. I hope you don't mind that I borrowed it."

"No, I don't mind. I was just wondering why you didn't borrow Frank's instead."

"Joe Hardy, what does it-"

"Nancy! Hurry up and get back to the room immediately Claire has found something important. I repeat get up here now!" Lexi's voice echoed through the room and the teenagers looked quickly at each other before Nancy grabbed the Hardys by their arms and headed for the stairs.

* * *

**A/N- Dun, Dun, Duuun! Well how was that for a chapter? Drop a review and let me know.**

**Luv ya,**

**Politicalblonde**


	6. Morning Sluething

Check out the awesome bit in here from Double Crossing the book that got me turned on to Nancy Drew/Hardy boys.

Disclaimer: I do not own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, however, I will admit that on more than one occasion I've contemplated breaking into the secret vaults that hold the copyright documents to the Super Mysteries and holding them for ransom until the publishers agree to publish more, more, more! But don't get your hopes up. I haven't taken any action yet; I'm still in planning.

Also, thank msnancydrew when you review. She was so kind as to BETA this and other chapters for your enjoyment so it only fair that she be recognized.

Well, now onto the fic!

Luv ya,

PoliticalBlonde

* * *

Ch. 6 Some Morning Sleuthing

"What did you guys discover?" The words left Nancy's mouth even before the door to their room was completely open. Lexi and Claire jumped from where they had been sitting cross legged on one of the beds.

"Wow, that was fast," Lexi commented.

"You said now." Nancy fell back into the same chair Lexi had occupied earlier as Joe entered the room closing the door tightly and locking it.

"We have an identity to put with our body Mr. Timmy Bass of room 405. I stumbled across it and gave it a brief search but I believe it would be best if we took another look at it in the morning. My brief search turned up nothing unusual. He was on the fourth floor which I have found houses all the staff: Maids, Butlers, and the like."

"Whoa," Frank muttered sitting across from Nancy.

"Here he goes now," Joe said with a smile. "He's going to start asking himself a million questions now."

"Typical private investigator's kid," Nancy said teasingly. "But seriously, what would happen if we started at the beginning and looked at everything methodically?"

"Typical lawyer's kid," Frank said, a slow grin lighting up on his face.

Joe and Nancy laughed while the twins looked on confused. "Should we add something like, oh I don't know, how about we examine the physical evidence we have such as the poetry and the wallet and bat around possible connections?"

"That would be what a typical kid would do if their mother wrote mystery novels and their father was a forensics investigator," Lexi finished.

The trio stared for a moment. "What, I thought this was a joke going around? Laugh, people, laugh." Joe snorted before breaking into a fresh fit of chuckles.

Frank gave a smile before becoming serious once more. "So our victim was on the staff."

Nancy nodded. "So we should probably question his coworkers to see if they know anything."

"Lexi and I were just discussing that. So Frank, Joe how did your searches of the murder scene go?"

Joe sighed, "Not as well as your searches. It was too dark and all we ended up doing was getting covered in mud and all sweaty." He sniffed the air around him and took in his clothes. "In fact, if you don't mind can this wait until we get a shower?"

"Sure, just hurry up."

"Will do." Joe gave a mock salute and smile before reaching into his sports bag, "By the way Nancy I've been meaning to ask you, in order to get to my shirt did you have to sift through my bag or was it on top?"

Nancy grinned. "Oh it was far from the top, very far in fact. I had to pass over some interesting garments actually but I won't share them."

"But I will," Claire announced as she walked over to Joe's bag and pulled it away from him. "Let's see… polka-dots, Santa, green, green, Barbie… nothing wrong with these. Hey Joe you're a boxer guy!" She announced brightly.

Joe looked mortified, "I think I knew that. Thank you very much for going through my undergarments." The others in the room laughed.

"You're welcome!" She turned and walked back to the group and sat on the floor leaning her back against the bed. "Anyways I would like to also suggest that we start keeping bios on everyone here. We could start on it in the morning. Everything from what they drink with breakfast to their spouse's name could be of use later. They might get long but I brought my laptop. Too bad we don't have internet access though. I can't check my email, enter FBI files, or browse news articles. But I think we should carry around notebooks at all times and plenty of pens, conversation leads to a lot of things."

"Brilliant idea. Perhaps we can draw out some maps too to look for discrepancies in size. Joe and I have seen secret rooms before."

"So have I," added Nancy as Joe shut the bathroom door and turned on the shower.

"Hmmm… yes. I'm sure I have grid paper somewhere. I didn't know what we would be dealing with so I practically packed everything I owned." Lexi stood up and to prove her point began pulling notebooks, a finger printing kit, and other objects from her bag and placing them on top of the bed.

"Well, I can't think of anything else at the moment but that could be because I'm exhausted," remarked Claire with a yawn. "Can you guys think of anything else at the moment?" There was momentary silence before the other inhabitants of the room shook their heads and muttered no's. "Well good; then the girls get the bed by the window."

"Do you guys mind if I set the alarm for 6:30? When I was downstairs I noted the coffee pot was set for 7:00 and I would really like to meet our early riser."

"Sure go ahead but don't make too much noise in the restroom because I'll still be asleep. I don't care how dire this case is I have a serious case of jet lag I need to sleep off," answered Lexi.

"Can do," Nancy replied with another yawn before falling back onto the bed still in her PJ bottoms and Joe's shirt. She reached over and set the alarm as Frank waited patiently outside the bathroom door facing the wall with his nightclothes in hand. Claire and Lexi each pulled out a tank top and flannel pants and changed before crawling under the covers. Nancy in the few minutes they had taken to change had fallen asleep on the comforter and the two girls lightly pulled it out from under her and spread back out on top. Joe exited the restroom as Frank entered and crawled over to the other bed noting that the alarm was set for 6:30 before he slipped under the covers to drift off. Frank exited the bathroom ten minutes later smelling and looking clean with droplets of water glistening on the tips of his hair. He too slid into bed and all five young sleuths drifted in their minds' dreams.

HHHH

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Nancy was startled from her peaceful sleep as the sound of the alarm came far too early for her liking. She reached over in the dark and felt for the button to end the dreaded sound. Her roommates stirred but didn't get out of bed. Claire briefly groaned and opened her eyes before rolling on her side as Nancy hit the button and sat up groggily. The room spun for a minute and Nancy rubbed her eyes. She would need to take a nap later.

She slowly got out of the bed and Claire immediately scooted over to gain more room as Nancy once again yawned and knelt down beside her bag and pulled out fresh clothes before heading to the bathroom to freshen up.

Nancy gave another deep yawn as she stepped out of the shower and pulled on her pale blue blouse and hip hugging flares. She used her towel to wipe the steam off the mirror as she took in the scent of the soap. It was sea foam and it was strong. She pulled her hair into a messy bun and left the restroom. She tossed her old clothes in the corner and retrieved a spiral notebook and pen from her bag before heading out the door at 6:53 and hurrying down to the kitchen.

HHHHH

"Good morning!" Nancy said brightly as she entered the kitchen to find a thirty-something man sitting on a bar stool at the counter with a mug in one hand and a notebook in the other. He looked up at Nancy's greeting and pushed his glasses up on his nose and ran a hand through his blonde and grey hair.

"Good morning to you too."

Nancy sat down beside him and extended her hand, "I'm Nancy Drew."

"Maxwell Porter, but everyone calls me Max. Do you uh, want some coffee?" he asked setting down his coffee and shaking her hand.

Max chuckled, "I got up because I noted the coffee pot had been set but no one has shown up yet. I wanted to learn the habits of my competition."

Nancy was startled, "What? I thought you were the one who set it."

"Nope, I'm just the humble sleuth come to see what someone was doing up so early. I thought you were my coffee addict."

"Well, I guess we're both up early without a cause. It will be at least another hour before people start moving around. Care to share what you've been writing down?"

Max smiled, "A sleuth never shares their secrets without a price."

"Not even with a sweet, young red head?" Nancy joked.

"Nope."

"Aww… oh well. Can't say I didn't try." Nancy opened her own notebook and set it in her lap so Max couldn't read it and jotted down the conversation quickly.

"Jolly good morning!" exclaimed a short bespectacled man with a receding hairline as he entered the room. "I say ole' chap, ma'am, have you seen Mrs. Wiyy- Fap? She got up terribly early and left her glasses on the nightstand. I thought she'd be needing them to do her fair share of sleuthing." The man wrinkled his nose, "Whatever are you drinking?"

Max held up his mug, "Coffee, do you want some?"

The man looked appalled at the suggestion. "Oh heavens no I haven't the slightest taste for that foul substance. I'd much rather start my mornings with a fine cup of Earl Grey. It has just the right amount of zest to start the day and it relaxes the muscles so you can be in tip top shape for snooping." He walked to cupboard and looked in shaking his head. "Mint and lemon but no Earl Grey and this man calls himself British." He closed the cupboard and turned to the two sleuths. "So back to my first question have either of you seen Mrs. Mabby Wiyy-Fap?"

"No I haven't seen anyone but Max here."

"And I haven't come across anyone but Nancy."

"Oh, well back to searching. Do any of you know what is behind that door?" the man asked gesturing toward a solid oak door over Nancy's shoulder.

Nancy swiveled in her seat to look, "Umm yes. I was down there earlier and it is a wine cellar and basement."

Max looked at her curiously probably trying to figure out when she had been down there. The man walked over to the door and turned the handle pulling it open. Nancy could see it was dark and got up to flip on the light before following the man down the stairs. She could hear Max behind her. She got to the bottom of the stairs and turned toward the wine barrels. There was no one there.

"Sorry sir, but there isn't anyone down here," Nancy called over her shoulder.

The man continued down the stairs and took a look around himself before sighing. "I see there is no one down here."

Nancy looked at him confused while Max chuckled. "Well we should be heading back up. Don't you agree Nancy?"

"Yes, I do." Nancy turned toward the stairs as Max and the man did the same.

"Aaarrrrggg!" a scream echoed from somewhere above followed by a bang and Nancy bolted up the steps to find the door closed. She turned the knob.

"We're locked in!"

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A/N- So how is that for a cliff hanger? Not to bad if I say so myself. Well first off, I'd like to thank all my wonderful reviewers and even those of you who have flamed. You all rock and I wouldn't change a thing you've said. Well, I hope you are enjoying this so far and I hope you continue it until the end.

Much luv,

PoliticalBlonde


	7. Victim Number Two

**Disclaimer: I don't own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. I do own Lexi and Claire so if you desire to use them just ask and I'll be likely to assent.**

**Please thank my wonderful BETA reader msnancydrew for her great work on this chapter.**

**I hope you enjoy and please drop a review.**

**Luv ya,**

**Political Blonde**

* * *

**Ch. 7 Victim Number Two **

"Aaarrrrggg!" a scream echoed through the house and Joe bolted up in bed startled. He looked over quickly to see Frank sitting up beside him and Claire and Lexi sitting up in bed with bloodshot eyes and frizzy hair.

"Was that a scream?" Joe asked slightly dazed.

"I believe so. We had better hurry up and see what is going on," Frank replied kicking off his covers. He was merely in his boxer shorts so with a bit of a blush and mumbled apologies he reached into his bag and hastily put on some flannel pants and pulled his robe over his shoulders. Joe having followed suit was already at the door and opening it when the twins ran up with Lexi's hair in a messy ponytail and Claire's hair in one of Lexi's hands as the other twin attempted to pull it up as they walked. Once entering the hallway the team of sleuths knew they weren't dreaming as many of the other occupants had made their way into the hallway in a various array of nightclothes.

It was utter chaos as people argued over where the scream had come from and who it was and what they should do. Joe sighed; this was going to get them no where. He hastily put his hands in a cup around his mouth to amplify his voice and yelled over the crowd, "Let's all go down to the dining room and we'll take a headcount. It's easier than all of us being in this hallway like a mob!" The group fell silent and stared at him for a moment. "Well go on. Those of us in the back can't get to the stairwell if you don't get a move on." The crowd with a few grumbles turned and headed for the small doorway at the end of the hall.

8888

"Hanc W.D. Smith?"

"Right here."

"Yvonne Mars?"

"I'm over here."

"Chloe Sanders?"

"Over here."

"Lisa King?"

"Here."

"Mabby Wiyy-Fap?"

Joe looked up from his clipboard as he held the highlighter beside her name waiting for a sound of her presence. Upon reaching the dining room he had quickly amassed a list of all fifty guests by having a representative from each group give the five names for their team. The head of staff had also produced a list of all the employees. Joe was now conducting roll call. "Mabby Wiyy-Fap," he repeated after a moment. Silence rang through the dining room. "Has anyone seen Ms. Wiyy-Fap today?"

"She's my roommate and we've been looking for her all day. She left her glasses on the nightstand," A dark woman in a knit sweater called from a chair. "You don't think she screamed do you?"

Joe sighed, "It is a possibility. Why don't we split into groups of three and search for her okay?"

"Why three? Won't we be quicker if we search alone?" A robust gentlemen in a nightgown replied.

"Three is good in case you find her and you need to send people to get help. She may be injured. Anything else?"

"If not let's finish roll call then get going." Frank glanced around the room taking in faces. Where was Nancy? He shifted onto his toes to see to the back of the room all the while knowing that if Nancy were here she'd be right in the middle with him and Joe. Claire shifted beside him.

"Nancy Drew?" Joe paused and looked over at Frank who shrugged in reply. "Nancy Drew? It seems we'll be looking for her too."

"Alexis King?"

"I'm here!" Lexi called from her location by the dining hall doors.

Joe continued down the list finding only three other missing persons. One was Timmy Bass, their victim. They knew where he was. The other two were sleuths, a Mr. Maxwell Porter from group six and Theodore Nottingham from Mrs. Wiyy-Fap's group. Joe tucked the clipboard under his arm and looked over at his brother who gave a shake of his head. They wouldn't be revealing their discovery of the body quite yet. Joe thought he knew why too. It would simply cause a panic and let the killer know they were on their trail.

"So it seems we'll be looking for five missing persons. If you could please find two partners and we'll begin our search for the source of the scream." Individuals in the room immediately grouped themselves off and headed for the doors. Lexi and Joe made their way to Frank and Claire.

Lexi arrived first. "So what do you say, do we split up?"

"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. Then we can get to know the other sleuths while we're conducting our search," Claire stated.

"I want to check the kitchens. Nancy said she would be there this morning and I can't help but wonder where she is," Frank commented running one hand through his dark hair.

Claire smiled. "How cute, you're worried about her."

"We've had too many close calls in the past for me not to be worried."

"I'll stick with you," Joe commented. "You girls can go find two other groups to stick with." Frank opened his mouth to protest but a pointed look from Joe shut him up. Claire and Lexi watched the exchange but only gave a faint "see you later" before splitting up.

"Come on Frank, before someone joins us. The groups should come out uneven." He grabbed the cuff of his brother's shirt and pulled him from the room much to Frank's chagrin.

HHHH

Nancy banged on the door; she banged on the door like there was no tomorrow but she became aware very quickly that no one could hear her. She slid to a sitting position at the top of the stairs with Max and the other man standing below her. "It's no use. They've probably all gone to see the source of the commotion." Nancy ran a hand through her strawberry-blonde hair in frustration. "I just wish we knew what was going on. I hate being trapped."

Max gave a weak smile. "I think we'd all rather be up there discovering the source of the scream. Who? Where? Why?" He sighed and ran one hand through his speckled hair while sliding the other into his pocket. "Well, I don't know about you two but I figure that while we're down here we should get some investigating done. So where do you say we start first?"

"I think we should start with the oldest part of this room and that, my boy, would be the walls. If there is a map somewhere in here or perhaps even the treasure it'd be there." The robust man shifted his spectacles and smacked his lips before walking over to the nearest wall and pressing hard on each stone brick.

"So, Drew, what do you say, want to check out the other side of the room?" Max gave a dazzling smile and Nancy couldn't help but cast him a grin in return.

She sighed and pushed herself up off the stairs. "Might as well, we could be in here for hours. We don't know what that scream was about. Although I have a hunch it has something to do with our poetic murderer." Nancy walked briskly past Max for the far end of the cellar intent on getting something done.

HHHH

"Then I graduated from Boston University with a degree in bioengineering but there just wasn't an industry for that in Smithton, being a small town and all, so I moved to Phoenix. Anyways, about four months after moving in there was a series of serial killings in the Phoenix area including my neighbor, sweet old lady. That's what turned me on to forensics. I immediately returned to Boston and got a degree in Forensics and returned to Phoenix where I actually got put on the serial case. Of course it wasn't too long afterward that we caught the guy and I was promoted for my impeccable work in the field."

Claire rolled her eyes in annoyance. Hanc, with a c just like his grandfather, W, for William his rich uncle, D for Dalton his mother's maiden name, Smith as in Smith had not stopped talking since they had begun their search. He was a wiry man who dressed as if he was ready to golf in sweaters and khakis but apparently he was dreadful at golf. Hanc W.D. Smith was also a leading expert in the forensics field and Claire could see why he dealt strictly with hard evidence, the man couldn't take a hint.

Claire knocked on the door to room 436 before opening it. She knew no one was in it but common courtesy still took over. She was a southern girl who had been taught to always knock before entering, say yes ma'am and yes sir, and always be thankful and the idea that she might be looking for a body didn't change that.

"Well, it seems there is no one in here. Did you know that you can tell how long someone has been dead based on their stomach contents? In one case two years ago-" Hanc was off on another personal story and Claire sighed before glancing at her other partner, Tatiana Giovanni. She was a quiet Russian woman who worked as a private investigator in Moscow. She and Claire had only exchanged a few curt words but she seemed nice enough and she seemed very pleasant when placed against Hanc.

Tatiana twisted her dark hair around her finger and pretended to appear interested as she stepped back into the hallway followed by Hanc. Claire followed. Tatiana was the first to reach the double doors of the library and with a squeak she opened them. Claire couldn't help but gasp as she took in the rows of books.

The trio stepped into the room. "Is anyone here?" Tatiana called in cut English. Hanc stepped up behind her and turned on his heel to take in the books. His eyes grew wide as he looked above Claire's shoulder. "I think I've found who screamed."

Claire and Tatiana whipped around following his gave. On a second level balcony was an elderly woman, her body was propped up in a chair. Claire's breath caught in her throat and she took a step back as she noticed the three dark red stains on her nightdress, blood. "Oh dear god!"

HHHHH

Lexi sighed as she opened the door to room 700. Another group was down by Mrs. Wiyy-Fap's room including one of her roommates who was hovering on the verge of tears. "We were woken up real late last night by a couple of them teenagers. Mabby, bless her soul, got up and told them off for playing in the halls so late when the rest of us was sleepin'. Then when we's got up this mornin' she was still asleep. We didn't want to wake the poor dear so we left and went to play cards in the back courtyard and when we's returned she was gone. Her bed was made real nice like so we thought she'd be back soon. No use sleuthing without a plan but she never came back and we got worried so we looked for her. We still hadn't found her before she screamed." The elderly black woman gave a shudder. "Oh, I'm so worried. What if something happened to her? This stuff is so much easier to deal with when it's fictional and all." The woman shuffled her slippered feet into the room and Lexi, curios, abandoned her group to follow her in.

The room looked exactly like her group's with the exception of the color scheme which was blue rather then green. Lexi glanced around the room. Everything seemed to be in place. The room was clean aside from a few scattered essentials as it should be. "Which bed did you say Mrs. Wiyy-Fap was in?"

The frantic woman looked up at the sound of her voice. "I didn't say but it was the one closest to the window."

Lexi nodded and strode across the room to the bed. It was made neatly, its pillows fluffed and the thick quilt pulled tight. Lexi ran her hand across it and was surprised to discover the center was damp. Curious she held up her hand which was tinted a light pink. "Someone grab the other end of this quilt. There is something under here."

A man from the other group obediently grabbed the other end. Pulling it back on the count of three they laid the quilt out flat on the suite floor. The frantic woman made a strangled cry and fell back into a nearby chair as the quilt uncovered three dark red stains, blood.

HHHHHH

"Someone drank the coffee," Joe commented as he and Frank entered the kitchen. He quickly walked to the counter in search of some sign of Nancy.

"And Nancy was clearly here," Frank remarked picking her notebook up off a stool. He flipped through it looking for some sign of where Nancy went. His dark eyes scanned her tiny and curved scrawl. Nancy had had a conversation with a Maxwell Porter but he wasn't the coffee drinker. An elderly man who was rooming with Mrs. Wiyy-Fap had also ventured to the kitchen in search of Mrs. Wiyy-Fap. Frank felt his stomach tighten. "Hey Joe, who else was missing again?"

Joe looked over at his brother. "Mrs. Mabby Wiyy-Fapp, our dead guy, Theodore Nottingham, and Maxwell Porter. Why?"

"Didn't that one woman state that her whole room had been looking for Mrs. Wiyy-Fap?"

"Yeah," He said slowly. "Frank, what does that notebook say?"

Frank felt his heart pounding in his chest as he replied hollowly, "Just that Nancy was last with two other sleuths who are also missing."

HHHHH

"Its blood," Lexi stated bluntly. "But it hasn't seeped through the quilt yet. Was she sleeping with the quilt when you left?"

"Of course not. For all we know that thing could be filthy."

Lexi bent over the bed. "There are three holes in this mattress and judging from the burning of the fibers I'd say Mrs. Wiyy-Fap was shot and not too long ago as the blood hasn't even started to dry." Lexi felt the hairs on her neck stand on end. It was very likely that Mrs. Wiyy-Fap was their second victim. "That scream was probably her reaction to being shot the first time."

"But if she was shot three times then we'd have heard it." Lexi looked up at the third sleuth in the room, a red-headed woman, and opened her mouth to respond but she was cut off.

"Not necessarily. It may have been silenced. But if she was shot she might be…, you don't thinks she's?" The man stuttered from across the bed.

"I'm really not trying to think about that sir." Lexi bent down beside the bed and flipped up the skirt. "Does anyone have a flashlight?"

"Yes, right inside the nightstand." Lexi nodded and opened the drawer removing the flashlight. She turned it on and shined it under the bed. "It seems the blood hasn't seeped all the way through so the body wasn't here long." Lexi stood up. "But how did they get it out without getting blood everywhere?" she mused.

The red-headed woman cleared her throat loudly from where she stood beside the wardrobe. "Which of these are Mrs. Wiyy-Fap's?" She inquired pushing her red rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose. She was wearing a deep red blazer and her nails, Lexi noted, were ruby red just like her lips.

The elderly woman walked over and siphoned off a group of clothes. "These would be Mrs. Wiyy-Fap's garments."

"Hmm…" She scratched her chin with two long finger-nails. "I've got it!" she suddenly exclaimed with a snap, "I know how the body was removed without getting blood everywhere."

* * *

**A/N- So how was the body removed? Find out next time! If you liked it please drop a review.**

**Luv ya,**

**Political Blonde**


	8. Discoveries

**Disclaimer: I am a fanfic fanatic and do not own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, but I do own Claire and Lexi and am thus protective of them. I don't mind you borrowing them if you ask.**

**This chapter has been BETA read by msnancydrew, who rocks! Please thank her if you review for helping make this a great fic. **

**Plus a huge thanks to all my reviewers. You guys keep me writing with your awesome comments. It wouldn't be half as fun without you all. Well onto the story…**

**Luv ya,**

**Political Blonde**

* * *

Ch.8 Discoveries

Nancy felt the stone slide beneath her hands scratching at her palm. She, Max, and the elderly man had been painstakingly pushing and pulling at the manor's stone bricks for roughly an hour and had gotten nowhere. Nancy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she squatted above the floor checking each and every one of the lower bricks. There was a clapping of hands somewhere behind Nancy.

"Oh dear me! Why I believe I may have found something." Nancy's legs protested as she stood up quickly abandoning her work and strode across the cellar to the elderly man with Max. The man had his nose pressed up against a stone brick but as they approached he righted himself and stepped back. "See here, this stone is different than this one." He pointed to a stone with his left hand. "This stone here is a form of arkosic sandstone you can tell by its similar appearance to granite. This is what the majority of this room is made of; however, this spot here," he brushed his hand over an eight foot by three foot section of wall, "is made of a form of quartzose sandstone. You can see the quartz crystal flakes if you look at it closely."

Nancy bent forward her nose now inches from the stones; sure enough the stones were slightly different. Nancy moved to the side to give Max room to look. "So why change stones in the middle of construction unless…"

The man removed his spectacles and ran an arm across his brow before slipping them on. "Since there are two different types of stone here it is safe to assume that one of these areas was built later than the other. And considering the majority of this room is built in arkosic sandstone it is also safe to assume that this small section of quartzose sandstone was added at a later date."

Max grew eager at this, "To possibly hide a treasure! Could we really have found it already?" He reached into his pocket his hands probing for something. Nancy felt excitement pump through her veins; this could be the way to the treasure.

The man slipped his glasses back onto his face. "It's possible but these old castles are notorious for sealed doors, passageways, etc. For all we know it could be an old wine storage area that became too small or perhaps it was a sick room sealed off to prevent the spread of disease or…"

"Or it could be the treasure." Max grinned as he removed a pocket knife from his pocket. "If I can get one brick out then we should be able to break out the rest and see what is really behind here."

"I don't know if we should just be breaking it."

"Drew, do you know of another way we can get all of these bricks out of our way?" Nancy remained silent. "That's what I thought. Besides, the man is filthy rich he can buy a new wall." He knelt on one knee and quickly began to wedge the blade of his knife between the stones intent on breaking one out. "Well don't just stand there you two. Get something to help me."

Nancy watched the elderly man walk off without a comment before giving a shallow nod and heading off in search of something useful.

HHHHH

Frank tucked Nancy's notebook beneath his arm knowing she could be in danger at this very moment and he had no idea where she was. "Joe, you don't think she could be #2 do you?"

Joe looked up at his brother's worried face. "No, I don't believe so. Nancy would be too careful to let something like that happen."

"Joe, I'd have said that too but after seeing how Nancy flitted past that clue in the river. I just… I'm not so sure. She's not herself."

Joe looked down at his shoes. "Your right, she isn't herself and that's Ned's fault but you saw her last night. She was ready to go and ready to sleuth. I think seeing us helped her, especially seeing you."

Frank gritted his teeth. "Joe, not this-"

"I'm not going to argue with you right now. You're worried about Nancy and I am too. I'm just calling it as I see it." He put his hands on his hips and turned in a circle. "There is no sign of a struggle so I'm going to say Nancy left this room of her own free will. I'm also going to say that she probably left to look for Mrs. Wiyy-Fap. Even if Nancy is out of it because of Ned she is still a helpful person who naturally worries. She'd want to find Mrs. Wiyy-Fap. So where would you go to look for Mrs. Wiyy-Fap?"

"Not in the main area of the home. Mr. Nottingham would have checked there first if he was truly looking for Mrs. Wiyy-Fap."

"And we have no reason to believe otherwise. So Nancy probably would have headed-"

"Through that door." Frank slipped around the table and crossed the kitchen to a large oak door and turned the handle. "And you wouldn't believe it but it's locked, a very good reason for Nancy not to have come running when she heard the scream."

Joe crossed the kitchen and knelt beside his brother. "It's rusty but I can probably get it." With that said Joe removed his lock picking kit from his pocket and proceeded to work on the door.

Frank leaned on the wall beside him watching his slow progress. "I wonder how the other group's searches are going."

"I hope no better than ours. I really can't be the debonair top sleuth if I'm not the top sleuth." There was a click and the door swung inward. "Got it!" Joe stood up and pushed the door all the way open. He and Frank walked into the brightly lit and very empty cellar. "Nancy?"

HHHHHH

Nancy returned to the wall with a large rod of metal which she had ripped off of an empty wine barrel, most likely a lock and immediately began to help Max and the elderly man. It was a painstakingly laborious task. Her hands rubbed across the metal as she hacked at the stones watching them fall to the floor. It was too late now to do things nicely, Max had made sure of that.

Max gave a triumphant laugh as a large portion of wall crumbled to the floor and revealed an opening. There was nothing behind the wall a sure sign of a room. Nancy and the elderly man refocused their efforts around that section of wall and soon had a gap about three feet in diameter that they could squeeze through. Nancy set her tool down and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She then reached into her pocket and removed her penlight. "Well, time to see what's back there." She crouched before the hole allowing the dust to cake her knees and crawled through.

Nancy stood up and flipped on her pen light; a small circle of light illuminating the floor. She could tell immediately that she wasn't in a room but rather a corridor; the walls of which were dusty and brushed her arms snagging at her sleeves. She took a step forward hearing Max and the man enter behind her. She shined her light across the floor, dirt and stuck her hand out before her into the inky darkness.

"Ooh, hoo, hoo! It's a secret passageway! What fun!" Nancy heard the elderly man cry behind her. She continued to step forward her shoes brushing soft dirt until suddenly her foot met wood and she lurched forward onto one knee.

"Slow down guys, we've got stairs," Nancy called over her shoulder as she pushed herself back to a standing position and proceeded up the stairs. It became clear almost immediately that these stairs were spiral. Nancy would go forward three steps and bump into a wall, turn slightly, go three more, and be forced to repeat the process. Nancy heard someone stumble behind her but the walls had become too close for her to turn around. She continued forward until she ran into wood. Nancy shined her light on it; a door. "Guys there is a door here."

She felt one of the guys stop behind her so close that she could feel his breath on her neck. Nancy shuddered and reached for the door knob. "Allow me Miss Drew," Max whispered in her ear as he felt around her in the dark and grabbed the door knob. He gave it a twist and pushed. "It seems to be unlocked but it's heavy. Push on it Nancy." She did as she was told and the door slipped open revealing a brightly lit room.

"Nancy!"

HHHH

"How?" Mrs. Wiyy-Fap's frantic roommate asked.

The red woman smirked. "Why it is simple of course. See how her clothes are all in dry cleaning bags?" There were murmurs of confirmation around the room. "Well, Mrs. Wiyy-Fap clearly gets everything dry-cleaned and when you get things dry-cleaned they come in plastic covers, covers long enough for a body. If she gets everything dry-cleaned, as it seems she does, then every garment should be covered but this one isn't." She extracted a pink dress from the wardrobe. "It is my guess that whoever shot Mrs. Wiyy-Fap wrapped her body in the plastic covering from this dress knowing plastic wouldn't leak blood and in that way removed the body from the room while you all were playing cards which brings me to my next point. Mrs. Wiyy-Fap couldn't have been our screamer."

Lexi cocked her head to the side confused by this statement. "Why not? She was shot and believe me if I was shot I'd be screaming like a banshee."

"Ahh, it would seem but you see the timeline clearly doesn't coincide with Mrs. Wiyy-Fap screaming. For Mrs. Wiyy-Fap to have screamed she would have needed to be alive at the time of the scream but, assuming she is dead, she would have died while her roommates were out. According to her roommate's story she was gone when they came back to the room and the bed was made, to hide the blood as we've discovered, and only later did they go to look for her. The scream occurred while they were looking for her, the scream occurred after the blood was hidden, the scream occurred after Mrs. Wiyy-Fap was shot, the scream, it seems, couldn't have been from Mrs. Wiyy-Fap." The woman raised a brow and smirked daring someone in the room to object to her conclusions.

Lexi could feel herself gaping but she couldn't bring herself to close her mouth. The woman was right, absolutely right! She had merely assumed that the scream had come from Mrs. Wiyy-Fap because it was logical for someone to scream when shot at but that didn't coincide with the sequence of events. That meant someone else must have screamed. Lexi felt her stomach grow cold.

"We… we need to find the body now." Lexi took a deep breath and looked around at the group. "And someone needs to tell the others about this. I… I think I'll just go tell my sister what we've concluded." With that said Lexi pushed her way past the crowd and out the door her face pink. "That was so damn embarrassing; no, this is Britain, that was so bloody embarrassing," she muttered to herself.

HHHH

"Nancy?" Claire gasped as she took in the girl before her. She, Tatiana, and Hanc had been standing there looking up at the corpse, steeling themselves to examine it when, much to their surprise, the body had moved. Claire had jumped, a scream on the tip of her tongue, fully believing she was seeing a ghost at work. The head had rolled first, a lazy and limp roll from side to side but then the whole corpse lurched forward and Claire could see the wall was moving with it.

A familiar figure had then poked her head out, squinting in the light. Two men followed her into the room. "Claire! We just found a secret passage from the… what's wrong?" Nancy cocked her head in confusion.

"Nancy, come all the way out into the library then turn around." Nancy did as she was told and walked up to the railing before turning around.

Nancy gasped before walking up to the corpse. "Is she the person who screamed?"

Claire walked toward the library stairs; somehow having an experienced sleuth like Nancy giving her more courage to approach the body. "I'm assuming so. Being shot would be a good reason to be shot."

"Mrs. Wiyy-Fap! Oh dear, dear, dear!" The bespectacled man had come out of the passageway and now looked upon his roommate with a white face. "She's, she's, she's dead. Why is she dead?" His voice was strained.

Nancy turned to face him. "That would be the million dollar question." She returned her attention to Claire. "Have you looked her over yet?"

Claire stopped before Nancy, feeling slightly ill, and shook her head causing her frizzed pony-tail to bounce. "No, Tatiana, Hanc, and I haven't had a chance to examine her yet," she stated loudly then in a whisper she added, "Do you think it's linked to Timmy Bass?"

Nancy looked up sharply, "It's likely. Help me check her for any notes."

Claire quickly ran her hands through the woman's pockets feeling nauseous the entire time. Reaching into a robe pocket she brushed paper and removed it. It was folded into a small square and Claire slowly unfolded it. She recognized the red letters before it was all the way open. "Nancy, Mrs. Wiyy-Fap is victim number two and I'm afraid our killer has left a warning for number three."

Nancy walked up behind Claire and read over her shoulder.

"Victim Number 3

Hello my most honorable, highly esteemed victim number three.

I have waited and watched and inevitably decided

A fate just splendid, just stunning, just perfect for the.

String wrapped, once, twice, still more tightly,

While you teeter upon the edge awaiting a swift drop.

Clean, silent, cheap, effective.

Nooses are only best when they snap to a stop.

May you twitch, and may you gasp, and perhaps even utter a swear

Dying at my hands you'll surely be. I'm certain you know

The absolute blessing of your dire role, is the

Honor at being a part of my… little… show."

Claire shook in anger. "Two dead and he still wants another. This is getting out of hand. This madman is just going to keep killing and he likes it! It's disgusting!"

"This is a warning for a third victim?" Tatiana asked snatching the paper from Claire's hand. "And Mrs. Wiyy-Fap was number two? Who was the first one?" Tatiana narrowed her dark eyes.

Max's head snapped up at this. "Yeah, who was victim number one? Why didn't we hear about it?"

Nancy sighed, "We got kicked out of our car last night and we saw a light in the woods so we went to investigate it. Unfortunately we fell into a hole with a corpse, Timmy Bass of the manor staff. He had three poems on him an overall warning, a warning to him, and a warning for victim number two."

Tatiana crossed her arms at this statement. "You found a dead body with three warnings on him and you didn't think it necessary to warn the rest of the house?"

Claire growled in frustration. "We were going to do that this morning but then there was all the chaos and we couldn't."

"Timmy Bass was the first death you say. How come your friend led us to believe the guy was just missing? We were all looking for five people when we should have been looking for four." Hanc threw his hands up in rage.

"It wouldn't have made much difference how many people… please… just listen…" but Claire remained unheard as the other sleuths in the room voiced very loud and very angry comments.

Suddenly Hanc grabbed them both by the arms. "Whatever you and your friends have gotten yourselves into is clearly dangerous and I won't be a part of it. We are going to go straight down to those gates and have you removed."

"No! Let them go!" Max suddenly stepped forward. "We can't leave for any reason, remember? Besides you don't honestly believe those teens killed the woman do you? They were invited here just like we were based on their detective work and their integrity. I don't believe they could be behind this."

"But they didn't…"

"The young girl has a good point. It would have been foolish to inform a large and already fearful group about a murder. It would have been pandemonium." Hanc begrudgingly nodded and let the two girls go with a glare.

Nancy rubbed her wrist. "Thank you Max. Now, I can assure you we didn't kill anyone and that we don't know who did or why but at the moment we have a corpse, a corpse that has yet to have been examined. I don't know about the rest of you but I want to get to the bottom of this." Nancy crouched back down beside the body in deep thought blocking out the rest of the room.

"Hanc, I believe you said you were experienced in forensics? Perhaps you could examine the body?" Hanc sneered before bending down across from Nancy. "The rest of us should check the surrounding area for clues and Tatiana perhaps you could find my sister and have her retrieve the other poems for you and tell her we found our screamer."

"There's no need Claire. I was just coming to tell you that the crime scene had been found in Mrs. Wiyy-Fap's room and that now we just needed to find the body. It seems you've already found it though," Lexi whispered reaching the top of the stairs. "But even so we're not done. Mrs. Wiyy-Fap couldn't have been our screamer. The timeline doesn't fit."

Claire and Nancy turned at this in confusion. "But then who screamed?"

* * *

**Dun...Dun...Dun! So how'd you like it? Anyways, that was certainly a fun chapter to write. It made me feel like a detective. And yes, the whole rock thing at the beginning was researched. You will not believe how hard it is to find the most common stone used to build English Castles even when you Google it. **

**I hope you enjoyed that chapter as much as I did! Please drop a review if you did!**

**Luv ya,**

**Political Blonde**

12


	9. Nancy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys; I give Stratemeyer Syndicate and Simon& Schuster. I do; however own Claire and Lexi King. They are part of an original series that may or may not be posted on Fiction Press eventually.**

**Well, all you ND/FH shippers will either love this chapter or hate it and all you ND/NN and FH/CS fans shouldn't be angry at me because this chapter makes it very clear this is not an "OMG I love you!""OMG I love you too!" fic and is actually very nice to those two. **

**This chapter has been BETA read by msnancydrew. I thank her very, very much and you all should to. So if you choose to review please thank her! **

* * *

Ch.9 Nancy

Frank watched Nancy as she worked. She was sitting Indian style on her bed having long ago changed into her pajamas. She had several papers spread out before her and was deep in concentration. She would read over the treasure letter, stare at the ceiling in thought, nibble on her pen end, and jot something down in her notebook before repeating the process.

Frank rolled over on his own bed and sighed. He and Joe had missed going to examine Timmy Bass's body and now he didn't know if they would be able to locate it again. He and Joe had been surprised when they had popped out of the secret passage. Frank couldn't believe Nancy wasn't in the cellar and had insisted he and Joe investigate. It hadn't taken them long to locate the passage and they followed it, knowing immediately that Nancy had been there. They had arrived in the Library just in time to be invited to a meeting in the dining hall where they, with the rest of team number five, were forced to explain themselves. Frank had never done something so hard in his life.

The people in the house were terrified by the prospect of a murderer and had been quick to point fingers, make rash remarks, and siphon off individuals who seemed threatening. One particularly rash remark had put Joe over the edge and the younger Hardy had felt compelled to tell a gentleman where he could stuff his sleuthing skills. The man clearly couldn't judge a person's character. The room had almost erupted into a frenzy at this exchange, feeding off of a mob mentality.

Frank sighed and closed his eyes. He had a headache. Smoothing over the murders with the rest of the house had been horrible and though he wouldn't admit to anyone else, he hadn't been sure he could do it. Noontime had come and gone without Frank noticing. In fact it wasn't until the house was sitting down to dinner later in the evening that he remembered his and Joe's plan. He sighed again.

"Frank, are you alright?"

"What?" Frank opened his eyes squinting in the light.

"I asked if you were alright."

Frank rolled over so that he was again facing Nancy. She was staring back at him with her blue eyes full of concern. Frank felt his skin tingle. "I've just got a headache—nothing major."

Nancy frowned at this and began stacking her papers neatly. "It must be pretty bad for you to be sighing like that."

Frank shrugged. "I'm just frustrated and exhausted from having to explain a double murder to a group of terrified sleuths. And of course that one idiot had to point out that we were all locked in this estate and that someone inside had to do it. The man clearly doesn't know what mob mentality is. And even after we proved our innocence that one lady was looking at you strangely."

Nancy sighed and pushed herself off her bed. "Frank, they're going to be suspicious; it's natural, really." She crossed the room and sat down beside Frank.

"I know but I'd rather they weren't."

Nancy smiled and stretched her arms up into the air before falling backwards onto the bed beside him. Her reddish blonde hair splayed across the comforter and brushed Frank's arm. She rested her head on her hands staring up at the ceiling. "Well, we can't always have what we want especially when other people are involved."

Frank propped up onto his elbow and stared down at her his dark eyes filled with concern. "You never did tell me about Ned, you know."

Nancy closed her eyes and shook her head. "I know. It just isn't something I want to talk about, you know." _Especially not with you, _she added silently.

Frank gave her a solemn smile. "You really need to talk about it. It'll make you feel better, I promise."

"Nothing could make me feel better Frank, certainly not talking."

Frank reached out his free hand and brushed a stray strand of hair out of Nancy's face. "Come on, Nan, humor me."

Nancy sighed, her face still tingling where his fingers had brushed it. "Fine, but you'd better not laugh."

Frank's demeanor took on a very serious tone. "I wouldn't dream of it; I could never laugh at something that has obviously affected you so much."

Nancy opened her eyes and gave Frank a half-hearted smile. He was so caring and sensitive. "Thank you, Frank," she whispered. He nodded.

Nancy took a deep breath, steeling herself. "I told you I was engaged to him, right?" Frank nodded. "Well, that is where I'll start. He proposed to me on graduation night. I was talking to Bess and George at the time. Bess was in hysterics about us going to different colleges and was afraid our friendship would wane and George and I were trying to assure her that could never happen. Anyways, Ned walked up and stood there smiling at me for the longest time. I smiled back but I was utterly perplexed about his goofy antics." Nancy shut her eyes again.

_Ned ran a hand through his hair as he stopped behind Bess and threw Nancy a dazzling smile. Nancy grinned back her azure eyes full of joy upon seeing her boyfriend. He had skipped his school's big game to be here. Nancy cocked her head to the side as he continued to smile looking sillier by the moment._

"He tapped Bess on the shoulder and whispered something in her ear. I knew something was amiss when Bess got this loopy grin on her face and suddenly started babbling that George's hair was a mess and that the two of them needed to go to the ladies room alone."

_Ned slid his hands into his pockets as he watched George and Bess make their way across the auditorium. As the door closed behind them he turned to face Nancy again still smiling. "Hey."_

_Nancy's lips curved into a light smile. "Hey, yourself."_

_If possible, Ned's grin grew larger as he stepped forward and enveloped Nancy in a hug. Nancy breathed in his scent, oranges and rain, as she hugged him back. "Congratulations, you've finally graduated Drew," he whispered in her ear. Nancy shuddered at the feeling of his breath tickling her cheek. _

_She pushed off of his chest as his arms slid below her waist. Nancy blushed. "Ned-"_

_He held a finger to her lips. "Shhh, I'm doing the talking right now. Understand?" Nancy nodded silently and he removed his hand only to replace it with his lips. His lips felt pleasantly warm against hers and Nancy smiled against his lips. Ned returned the smile before deepening the kiss. Nancy could feel her hairs standing on end and she sighed into his mouth their breaths mixing. Suddenly Ned let go, startling Nancy._

"He proposed to me," Nancy whispered her hand slipping into her pajama pocket and slipping around her ring.

_Ned slid to the floor on one knee and looked up at Nancy who remained innocently confused. "Ned, what are you doing?"_

_He smiled and shook his head. "Shh… I'm doing the talking. Remember?" Nancy nodded slowly confusion written in her eyes and Ned sighed before reaching into his pocket and extracting a small green velvet box._

_Nancy's hand flew to her mouth in unison with her sharp intake of breath as he slid open the box to reveal a dainty silver ring, an engagement ring. Ned was proposing!_

_Ned closed his eyes and took a calming breath and reopening them. Nancy forgot to breathe as his eyes met hers. "Nancy Drew, what can I say? Since the day I met you I think I've been in love. You are the most amazing, gorgeous, smart, sleuth of a girl a guy could ever hope to meet, more or less have the honor to date. I have stuck by you through case after case and criminal after criminal and you never cease to amaze me. Every time you smile I feel my heart do flip flops and when I see other guys looking at you and then turn to see that you're looking at me and only me, I wonder how a guy like me could be so lucky as to have your attention. Nancy Drew, I have your father's permission and now it is with all the love in my heart that I am asking for your permission to call you my wife for always. Nancy, will you marry me?" _

_Nancy knew her eyes were filled with tears and that all eyes in the room were on them but she couldn't say a word. She could only stare at the ring in shock. "Nancy," her head snapped up and her eyes met Ned's. "You can talk now, you know."_

_This comment snapped Nancy out of her stupor and she smiled before dropping to the floor across from Ned. She threw her arms around him and kissed him deeply her tongue weaving its way into his mouth. After a few moments Ned drew back. "Can I take that as a yes?"_

"And I said yes. I was so happy."

_Nancy smiled, "Of course, Nickerson. That is an absolute yes." Nancy laughed and reached a hand up to wipe away her tears but Ned grabbed her hand. "I love you, I love you, I love you."_

"_Don't, I'm sure you'll just tear up again," Nancy nodded, "besides I need this hand." With that said he slipped the ring out of the box. He held it up to the light with shaking hand before sliding it slowly onto her left ring finger. The crowd went wild and just as Ned predicted, Nancy felt tears sliding down her cheeks again. Ned reached up one hand and brushed the tears away with his thumb and Nancy melted._

_She pushed forward again placing several baby kisses on his lips before giving him another deep kiss. She felt his hands slide behind her back and she wrapped hers around his neck. People were still cheering as Ned stood up with Nancy still wrapped in his arms and spun around. Nancy's graduation robes fluttered and she pulled away to laugh. Ned placed one last kiss on her nose before setting her down. "Oh my god, Ned, we're engaged!"_

"And then we went to his apartment and-" Nancy froze, her heart feeling like it was burning. Frank felt his stomach grow cold and he sat up. Nancy couldn't have. "And-" Frank's face grew concerned and he slid an arm under Nancy and pulled her up to him.

"Shh… Nancy it's ok." Nancy buried her face into his shirt clutching at it.

"No, Frank. I can't I'll-"

Frank rested his chin on her red hair and shook his head. "No, Nancy, you can. You are a strong girl and crying doesn't make you weak." Frank brushed a hand through her hair. "Go ahead, Nancy."

Nancy remained silent for a moment and her fingers clutched his shirt tighter. Suddenly Nancy whispered, "I slept with him, Frank. I loved him. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry." Frank felt himself go numb. Nancy had slept with that bastard and then he had broken up with her. Innocent and caring Nancy had given that man her heart and he had torn it to pieces. Frank's grip on Nancy tightened and she gasped, snapping him back to reality. His shirt was wet and Nancy was gazing up at him her eyes fearful. "Frank-"

"I'll kill him Nancy, I swear I'll-"

Nancy pushed herself away from him shaking her head. "No, Frank, no. It's my fault. When I woke up the morning after it was to a call from Bess; she needed my help finding her missing boyfriend and I left to help. Don't you understand, Frank? Ned had proposed to me and we'd slept together and I left. I left for two weeks and didn't even bother to wake him. I left him a note. And then I came back and assumed a home cooked surprise dinner would make everything better. Frank, he had every reason to break up with me for that cheerleader. It was my fault! I shouldn't have left but I did." Nancy was nearly yelling at this point and her hands were clutching at the comforter.

Frank shook his head and reached out a hand to cup Nancy's cheek. "No…maybe you shouldn't have left but, my god Nancy, he shouldn't have cheated on you. You've never done anything that you didn't feel strongly about and he should have known that."

"Frank that's just it. Ned thought he should have been more important than that case, than any case. He thought I wasn't around enough to be married. And he's right. I can't ever be married if I continue to put cases first."

"Nancy," Frank whispered pulling her into a hug, "that isn't true. You are the most loving person I know and I know you want to help people but that doesn't mean you can't be married. You just can't be married to Ned. You'll find someone who loves you for you and understands that even when you're off on a case you'd rather be with them, but you couldn't live with yourself if you didn't help someone."

_Someone like you Frank,_ she thought. Nancy shifted to look up at him, a smile on her lips. Frank was staring back down at her his dark eyes filled with emotion and Nancy felt herself shudder as she pushed herself up to meet his lips. Nancy slid her arms around Frank's neck relishing in the touch of his skin against hers. Frank breathed into her mouth as she kissed him thanking the heavens that Bess wasn't here to interrupt. She bit his lip lightly and moved to slide her tongue into his mouth but Frank's hands on her arms pushing her away broke the moment.

Nancy was shocked as Frank held her out at arm's length with a pained expression on his face. "Nancy, we can't." He sighed, "I'm sorry but I've got Callie waiting for me back in Bayport and I couldn't do this to her. I'm sorry." He let his hands slide off of Nancy's arms.

Nancy felt herself grow cold and felt bile rise in her throat. "Oh, that's right, Callie," she said her voice perfectly calm but Frank flinched. He had known her long enough to recognize the anger hidden in her words.

"Nancy," Frank begged, "don't be this way. It was a mistake to kiss and you know it. I've got Callie and you were emotional." Frank felt her blue eyes boring into him.

Nancy slid roughly off the bed and stood. "You're right. I shouldn't have kissed you when I know you're still with Callie and I'm probably more emotional than I should be."

"If you agree than why are you angry?"

Nancy crossed her arms across her chest. "Because I'm so damn tired of this." She threw her hand up between them. "I'm so tired of this being a mistake. For once, God, just for once, I wish that this wasn't a mistake, Frank." Nancy turned on her heel and headed for the door.

"Nancy," Frank pleaded reaching for her arm but Nancy flinched away, "please don't be like this. It isn't-"

"It isn't what? Your fault? You're right it's mine. I don't have a single claim to you. You're just a friend and that is all you've ever been but that doesn't change the fact that it hurts. It hurts every time you mention Callie. It hurts every time we have these moments and then have to turn around and pretend nothing happened; it hurts and it shouldn't."

Frank moved to stand but Nancy held up a hand to stop him. "No, I've dealt with it before. This never happened." Nancy gave a sad smile. "I'll be downstairs helping Claire and Joe investigate that cellar passage or in the library with Lexi if you need me. Now get some rest. You look like you've been through hell."

"Nancy, don't pretend this didn't happen," Frank called but the door's soft shutting was his only response. Sighing, he laid his head in his hands, ill with frustration. He didn't know how Nancy managed to make the soft closing of a door seem like a slam but she had, and that's what hurt the most. Nancy wasn't just shutting the door on their fight; Frank had the feeling that she had just shut the door on their friendship and that is what scared him the most.

* * *

**Love it hate it? This is actually the chapter I was most nervous about so if you haven't reviewed yet this would be the chapter to do so. Also if you don't read A/N you should read this one. I really pick my thoughts apart. Whew, I'm getting chills just writing this author's note. **

**My reflection on this chapter:**

**Well, I just confirmed that I am going to make character relations as real as possible. No, "OMG I love you! Ned is gone!" "OMG I love you too! Goodbye Callie!" That, in my opinion, is entirely too cliche.**

**I actually felt bad for everyone in this chapter because the Ned proposal had me going "Aww" and then being mad at Nancy for leaving the day after but at the same time I was like, no I'm supposed to be pro Nancy. I guess part of me was just tired of making Ned look completely horrible. Nancy is human and not perfect. All I know is that if I proposed to someone and then did something so intimate I'd be mad as hell if they left for two weeks and I woke up to a note. So I'm not entirely angry with Ned for cheating because a part of me is thinking that it is wrong for Nancy to just leave for that long and only leave a note. I felt bad for Nancy because she wants Frank and she knows it but she can't have him. I also felt bad for Frank because he is being responsible and caring (Good old Frank) and he receives Nancy's pent up anger for it. Were you all as confused about who to feel bad foras me?**

**What are Claire and Joe doing in that tunnel? Next chapter I can guarantee some of Joe's charm with the ladies but I can also say that Claire and Joe will only have more "moments"; there is no ship there. Poor Lexi has NO moments, too bad for her.**

**My reflections on solving the case:**

**How many of you are actually trying to solve this as you go along? If you are I say pay attention to the things all our main characters have in common they aren't the only ones to share that common factor. Also read and reread the poems. They are far more intricate than you think and are key in the story. I'll be oh so disapointed if no one figures them out. If you do figure it out Don't, and I repeat DON'T, post the answer. Message me and tell me the secrets they hold. I won't tell you if your right until the chapter the big secret is revealed but I'll have it on record. I am trying to do a good job of giving clues and I really hope I'm doing so.**

**Also check the allusions. **

**Well, please, please, please tell me what you think of this chapter as I am more worried about this one than any other. Also, be sure to thank msnancydrew; she is amazing.**

**Much luv,**

**Political Blonde**


	10. Sorting Things Out

**Disclaimer: I do not own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys though I wish I did. They belong to** **Stratemeyer Syndicate and Simon & Schuster. However, the King Twins, Lexi and Claire, do belong to me as do the unique details of this plot so don't sue me!**

**This chapter was BETA read by msnancydrew. Please thank her for her wonderful work!**

** The case refered to in this chapter is from the book, At All Costs.**

** The Hurricane is from Desperate Measures. **

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Ch.10 Sorting Things Out

Nancy sighed as she leaned against the door to her room. Her hand was still on the knob and she could hear Frank moving inside. She felt bile rise in her throat at the thought of what had just transpired between her and Frank. She had made a fool of herself. There was no reason for her to blow up like that; no reason for her to throw a fit, but all the same, what she had said had been honest and that was what scared her the most. She had been completely honest with Frank and the response wasn't what she had expected. She didn't know how she would face him again.

Nancy pushed off the door and padded down the silent hall intent on joining Joe and Claire in their investigation; the sooner they found the treasure the sooner they could be out of this place. Nancy couldn't wait to see Bess and George again and get several hours away from the Hardys, especially Frank.

Nancy tucked her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear and reached for the doorknob to the stairs just as it opened. Nancy stepped back, startled. "Nancy!" A familiar head of blonde and gray hair popped through the door with a broad smile. "I was just coming to look for you!"

Nancy smiled, "Oh, really and might I ask why?"

Max's smile grew and he stepped all the way through the door. "Someone set the coffee for midnight; I was going to stay up and see who would be awake that late and then I realized I'd be rather bored staying up so late and watching coffee mix so I figured I'd fetch my coffee buddy. So what do you say, want to watch some coffee?"

Nancy looked thoughtful, "I don't know. I was just heading down to meet Joe and Claire."

Max's grin quickly changed to a pleading one. His eyes grew large and his bottom lip stuck out, "Please, Nancy."

Nancy laughed, "You look like a sad hound dog but I suppose I could watch the coffee pot with you for a little while."

Max grinned again and stuck an arm out which Nancy took with a quick glance over her shoulder at her door which was still shut. Max reopened the door. "To the coffee pot, Milady," he said in a loud and overly pompous British accent. Nancy rolled her eyes before making her way into the stairwell.

* * *

Nancy snorted into her coffee mug. "Are you serious?" Her blue eyes were full of mirth. "Your mother thought the killer was a guest and gave him your bed to sleep in? Incredible! So, what did you do when you saw him?"

Max laughed, "Well, he told my mother he was waiting for me so while he was waiting he fell asleep. So I walked in, saw him, backed out, and called the police. My poor mother had no idea and when the cops arrived she was running around in her dressing gown and curlers with her hearing aids turned down. She started asking them if they were staying for dinner and no one could explain what was going on. Oh, the look on the chief's face was priceless when she asked him if he preferred chicken or roast; the man was utterly confused." Nancy laughed again. "So anything funny ever happen on one of your cases?"

Nancy looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, there was this time in Utah. I was hiding under a bed with my friend, Allison, in her boyfriend's apartment. We had been investigating and heard the door open. Anyways, these two guys walked in after I sneezed and we didn't know who they were so when they walked up to the bed I bit the guy's ankle and then grabbed him and yanked him down. He was so surprised! We fought each other until he pinned me down. I looked up and you'll never guess who it was."

Max leaned forward, "Who?"

Nancy laughed, "Frank Hardy!" Max gave an exaggerated laugh and Nancy frowned. "It was Frank Hardy," she finished quietly. Max stopped laughing.

"Nancy, is something wrong?" Max leaned further forward and grabbed her hand.

Nancy slid her hand away. "It's nothing, we just had a fight."

Max leaned back in his chair, "You like him don't you, but he likes someone else?"

Nancy glanced up from her cup startled. "Yes, but how did you know?"

Max gave a sad smile. "Call it a hunch." Nancy looked back down at her cup as Max reached for her hand again. "Frank is stupid not to want you."

Nancy slid her hand out from under his as she blushed. She suddenly felt very awkward. "Umm--," Nancy stood up, "I think I should go check on Joe and Claire now. It was really fun chatting, but I need to investigate." She set her cup in the sink before walking quickly to the cellar door.

Max stood up. "Do you guys need any help?"

"No!" Nancy replied quickly, "I mean, no thanks, we've got it under control."

* * *

Joe leaned back and wiped the sweat off his brow. He and Claire had been examining the tunnel for the last hour, hitting bricks, and pulling on them and the only thing they had discovered was that the tunnel was bloody hot!

Claire slid in front of Joe and handed him the flashlight. "Your turn to hold the light. I'll poke and prod, Dr. Joe."

Joe smiled and took the flashlight as Claire used her one arm to push and pull at the stones. "I can't believe how hot it is in here." Joe brushed the sweat off his brow again.

Claire looked over her shoulder. "Yeah, it is a little hot, but I'm used to it. The humidity in South Carolina is killer. This is just a dry heat and I can prefer that."

"Yeah, well I prefer no heat," Joe replied dryly.

Claire laughed, "You just need to come visit the south more often. Maybe you can come hit the beaches with Lexi and me when this is all over. Lord knows we'll need a vacation after chasing down a psycho and finding buried treasure. And our beaches are perfect unless there is a hurricane, of course."

Joe smiled. "Don't worry. Frank and I have braved a hurricane before."

Claire stood up at this and turned to face, Joe her one arm sliding neatly onto her hip. "Oh really, which one?"

"Joe," Joe answered smugly.

Claire looked skeptical. "Joe…Hurricane Joe…what was it? All talk and no action?" Claire smirked and her right brow rose.

Joe's jaw dropped. "Excuse me, but I'll have you know that the building Frank and I were in sustained substantial damage. All the siding came off the building and we were very lucky the building didn't go as well."

Claire's smirk faltered. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, every shingle came off—"

"Because Tercon industries made the glue wrong," a female voice interjected. "The wind caused hardly any damage in other places." Joe and Claire jumped at the sound of Nancy's voice and whipped their heads towards her.

"Hey, Nancy!" Claire said brightly before turning back to Joe. "Is that true, Joseph?"

"Way to kill a story Nan. You know Claire you've really got my mother down, the face, the whole "Joseph" thing, and the hand on the hip. The only difference is you're much hotter." He flashed a dazzling smile as Claire shoved him playfully.

"Are you saying your mother is ugly?"

"Of course not, she is very pretty in a mother kind of way, but I'll never think my mother is hot. That is just creepy."

Claire shook her head with a smile, "You are so strange, Joe, so, so strange."

Nancy laughed, "I've been telling him that for years." She moved closer to the two teens. "So what have you guys been up to?"

"Oh just poking and prodding at the wall. How about you? How are those bios coming along?" Claire inquired.

Nancy felt her heart plummet to her stomach. "Oh, well, I worked on them for a while, but the room became unbearable so I thought I would come visit you guys."

Joe cocked his head in confusion. "What do you mean the room was unbearable?"

Nancy fished for an answer, "It got a little hot." It sounded stupid, but things between her and Frank had become heated.

"So you came to a tunnel that is _more_ than a little hot? Nancy, where's Fr- Yeaoow!" Joe's head snapped to face Claire, "What'd you do that for?"

Claire rolled her eyes as Joe rubbed his arm where she had twisted his skinbetween her nails. "You can help us for a while Nancy, but I think we were just getting ready to leave. It is stifling hot in here according to Joe and before you showed up I was going to suggest retrieving you to go over the facts of the case. Perhaps we could go join Lexi in the Library and discuss the facts?"

Nancy nodded as did Joe. "I'll go get Frank," Joe muttered still rubbing his sore arm. "Yeaaoow! Woman, are you mad? Why the heck do you keep pinching me?" Joe's face was twisted in a mixture of pain and anger.

"Because you are a complete idiot! Frank is probably sleeping," Claire snapped.

Joe guffawed. "Sleeping? It's only ten."

Nancy couldn't help but laugh at Claire's antics. "I think I'll go join Lexi," Nancy cut in as she slid by them. "And, Claire, it's ok, we're on a team. I can't avoid him forever," she added with a whisper.

"Joe, we're going to get Frank," she heard Claire snap behind her. Nancy smiled as Joe spluttered behind her.

"But you just pinched the crap out of my arm and told me he was sleeping!"

"Yes, well, I changed my mind. I'm allowed to do that you know; besides the trip to our room will give us plenty of time to talk and we need to talk." Their voices faded as Nancy made her way up the spiral stairs.

* * *

"Well, I searched the area around the body and I came up with this." Lexi pointed to a long piece of plastic covered in blood. "It was stuffed behind the chair. It seems the lady in red was right about how the killer moved the body. It is definitely a drycleaner's bag." Lexi was seated Indian style on the library floor boasting to gloves. "I also found this," her finger pointed to a print in the blood. "As you can see, it is a distinctive print which would be useful if we had some way to match it, but there are just way too many people in this house for us to do that without a computer. So this print needs to be saved for when we get out of here. The police can use it to build their case. Then I found this." She pointed to a small circle on the plastic where the blood was smeared. "I haven't the slightest idea what that could be."

Nancy bent over the plastic from where she sat between Joe and Lexi. "Did you check the room for anything with this shape?"

"Yeah, nothing. I also checked Ms. Wiyy-Fapp's room, but nothing. So I came to the obvious conclusion that this marking is unique to our killer." She crossed her arms and leaned back. "There are also a few drops of blood on the floor around the chair, probably from moving the body from the plastic to the chair. How did you guys do in the tunnel?"

"We only got about halfway. It was hot as hell and we didn't find anything," Joe replied grumpily.

Frank chuckled, "Couldn't take the heat, Joe?"

Joe crossed his arms, "I could say the same to you." He turned to face Nancy. "I know you didn't finish the bios, but how much did you get?"

"Well, I went down the list you gave me and I've got a page for everyone, but most just contain names and no details. I've got more on our victims and on the people we've actually talked one on one with. They still need a lot of work though."

Claire shifted in her seat. "So what next?"

Frank rested his head in his hands, "What do we know about the killer?"

"They're a poet and they know it," Joe deadpanned. Four sets of eyes rolled simultaneously. "What? It's true."

"Anyways, on a more serious note, they must be someone in the house and they can't get in or out," Claire supplied.

Lexi nodded, "Yeah, and that they have a gun. We haven't found the weapon yet so we'll have to assume they still have it."

"We also need to ask people if their roommates were in their rooms when the scream occurred. We still don't know who screamed and we need to narrow down our options."

"Nancy has a good point there," Frank replied, "Anything else you want add, Nancy?"

Nancy twisted her strawberry blonde hair feeling some of her earlier anger returning. There was a moment of silent tension. "Uh, no, if I had anything, I'd have said it." Frank was clearly trying to compliment away the fight they had had.

"Well, I have something to add," Claire interjected, "Hanc. W.D. Smith has worked on serial cases before. Perhaps we should have him look at the poems with us. He may find something we're missing."

Nancy nodded. "I agree. We really should get more people involved. Perhaps with more people on the lookout for foul play the killer will be afraid to strike."

"I'm surprised people aren't volunteering to help us investigate," Joe replied, a drop of irritation in his voice.

Lexi snorted angrily. "That would require them to take time out of their busy treasure hunting schedule to save lives. They've got priorities."

"Speaking of which, we need to take a little time out of our murder case to work on finding that treasure. We've hardly given it a thought."

"Nancy's right again," Frank inserted much to Nancy's annoyance. "We are focusing solely on one case and neglecting the other. Don't get me wrong, I realize murder is far more important than treasure, but that treasure is the whole reason we're locked in here. The sooner we find it, the sooner we can get out of here."

"I feel that. As much as I love a good mystery I will never be comfortable being locked in some old castle with a murderer. This whole thing is just plain freaky," Claire said.

"For once, Claire, I agree; there is no denying this situation is freaky." Frank said.

"So what do we do now?" Joe asked with a yawn.

Nancy supplied her own yawn. "First I say we catch some shut eye. We didn't get a whole lot last night and today wore me out. Then I say we investigate our murder scenes again and our victims' rooms. Hopefully we'll find something to go off of."

* * *

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_ Joe groaned and stuffed his head into his pillow at the sound of the alarm. _Beep! Beep! Beep!_ A frustrated sigh sounded from the other bed as someone slammed their hand on the snooze button. "Joe," Claire grumbled, "the alarm will only beep again unless you get yourself out of bed and turn it off. And no amount of plugging your ears will drown it out."

"IDUNWANNAGTUMP" Joe muttered into his pillow as he pulled the covers tighter.

"What was that?"

Joe pushed his head up from the pillow. "I don't want to get up." His head fell back.

"Yes, well, you're going to. I'm going to get a shower. You have twenty minutes to be up and ready before I get out. If you aren't ready I'll be forced to take pictures of your bed head and post them on the Internet when we get out of here."

Joe's head shot up again. "You wouldn't."

Claire smirked. "How would you know? We just met two days ago." Claire rummaged through her bag and removed some clothes before heading to the bathroom door. "I wouldn't test me if I were you," she called out evilly before shutting the door.

Joe rolled back over and snuggled into the pillow only to be elbowed in the side. "Hey, what was that for?"

"I think she was serious Joe. Besides, you did volunteer to go check out Mr. Bass's body."

"Only to retrieve my beeper," Joe grumbled before pushing himself off the bed. He cast a quick glare at Frank who's eyes were still closed.

"Oh, and don't forget to turn off the alarm."

"Yeah, gladly."

* * *

Joe munched on a doughnut as he and Claire headed through the woods. They had been going in circles for hours looking for their mud hole without any luck.

"I'm certain Nancy, Lexi, and I passed this tree on our way to the house. In fact, I think this is the one I--Lexi, tripped over." Claire's head was darting back and forth taking in trees. She had already tripped several times as she forgot to watch her feet.

"Yeah, that tree also looks like the one we passed five minutes ago. Are you sure you don't want a doughnut?" Joe asked his mouth full of food.

"I'm sure."

"Ok, more for me. That looks like the same tree too and so does that one. I think it's safe to say we're lost."

Claire growled. "We aren't lost. I don't get lost." She pushed through some bushes. "In fact, we're here." Claire stood at the edge of the clearing her arms crossed and a triumphant grin upon her face.

Joe stuck the last piece of doughnut in his mouth and brushed the crumbs off his hands before approaching the mud-hole. "Great! Claire, can you look for my beeper? It's somewhere in the bushes." Joe reached the edge of the pit, "Now, to examine Mr.—whoa!"

Claire cocked her head in confusion. "What is it, Joe?"

"Mr. Bass is gone! Our corpse is missing!"

* * *

**So how is that for a cliffie? Flirty Max, Pinching Claire, and a missing Mr. Bass; oh my, things have gotten pretty freaky. **

**Well, I finished the final outline of this fic. (I've redone it a few times already) and it is now safe to say that this fic will be 20 chapters with an epilogue of sorts. We're halfway to the end.**

**Wow, I am on a Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys high from reading 15 super mysteries in 4 days. I only need 8 more titles and I'll have them all. Does Dance **

**Anyways, if you review please thank my BETA reader, msnancydrew, for her hard work.**

**Much luv,**

**Political Blonde**


	11. Getting Some Answers

**Disclaimer: I do not own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, unfortunately, but I'm sure with careful planning and a lucky lotto ticket I could buy them and then I would make millions...no billions. HaHaHaHeHe-ahem. **

**Anyways, you all probably thought I'd died, but alas I am still alive and writing. I hope you enjoy this chapter because twelve is already typed up and so is chapter 13. i've also got twenty-one typed, but that won't come until later. I really hope you enjoy. I'm actually keeping my fingers crossed here. Again, hope you like this one and please review if you do.**

**Luv ya,**

**PoliticalBlonde**

**PS: I am so excited to be back!!! And please, if you review, thank msnancydrew because she is my wonderful BETA reader. Thanks a ton!**

* * *

**Ch. 11 Getting Some Answers**

"What! You have got to be kidding me Joe. A corpse can't just up and walk away." Claire moved forward to look into the mud pit only to have Joe's statement confirmed; there was no body to be seen only mud. "Perhaps we should see that he didn't just sink."

"Claire, the mud wasn't even knee deep on you guys, I highly doubt he sank."

Claire exhaled exasperatedly causing her breath to fog in the cold air. "Well, pardon me for being optimistic." She took on a more serious face. "Well, our killer clearly wasn't in bed last night because I'm sure he or she would be the only one to know this body was here besides us. They also have the motive to move it. I guess it is a good thing you and Frank started on it the other night or we'd have nothing at all."

"Yeah, I guess it is good, but we didn't really get any answers the other night." He sighed before walking around the perimeter of the pit with his hands on his hips. "I'm guessing our person went in that direction." He pointed to his left. "There is mud all over the grass there. It can't be from you guys last night because it heads away from the house."

"Well, I guess we'd better get to work," Claire stated cheerfully. "So do you want the bodiless pit or the bushes again?"

"I think I'll take the bushes, I want my beeper back," Joe answered as he headed for the bushes he had been in last night. "And besides, you owe me after the way you mutilated my arm."

Claire guffawed. "Excuse me; I did not mutilate your arm. I just lightly pinched it." Joe snorted at this. "Besides, my arm is hurt. I can't exactly climb in and out of the pit."

"One, you did not pinch my arm lightly, you nearly drew blood and two, you climbed out just fine the other night so you've got no excuses."

Claire thought a moment before groaning. "You got me there, Hardy. I guess I'll enjoy my mud bath." She made her way to the edge of the pit.

Joe chuckled, "Yeah, you do that." He immediately bent down on one knee reaching his hand in for his beeper. He felt around for a moment before putting his face flat on the ground to see under the bushes. Joe immediately shot up. "Hey! My beeper is gone! That sucker stole my beeper! That thing cost me $400! It had GPS and everything!"

Claire rolled her eyes deciding to start on the outside of the pit and work her way in so she crouched by the mud that had been dragged up when the body was moved. After a moment of scanning the ground she smirked. "Lovely, we can add Grand Larceny to our list of crimes. Man, this guy has eclectic tastes: larceny, murder, poetry, coffee."

"Coffee?" Joe asked standing.

Claire nodded. "Yes, coffee. There are grounds of coffee in this mud. Seems to me someone had coffee last night before coming to get the body and forgot to wash their hands."

"We'll have to ask around. Maybe someone saw someone get coffee last night."

"Yeah, we'll have to do that as soon as we find my beeper. Too bad we don't have phones. If we did I'd simply call it."

"Hate to tell you Joe, but in case you haven't noticed our killer is very smart. I'm sure that even with our lack of phone availability he's crushed or fried your beeper by now, just to be on the safe side."

Joe gasped dramatically and clutched at his heart. "Oh, my poor baby, to die so young is such a pity."

"Yes, yes tragic, now stop goofing and start sleuthing."

"Hey, you're a poet!"

Claire cocked her head in confusion for a moment. "What do you-oh." She laughed as she replayed her statement in her head. She was a regular Dr. Seuss.

HHHHHHH

Nancy sighed as she made her way to the staff quarters. It was 10am and time for her to start questioning employees. Seeing a maid exiting a room down the hall Nancy quickly jogged over to her. There was no sense waking other people up when this woman was clearly awake. "Excuse me, Miss?"

The short woman was plump with scarlet curls slicked back into a knot. At the sound of Nancy's voice she glanced up from the pile of towels in her arms. "Yes, is there something I can help you with or have you come to question me like the others? I really do have to work you know."

Nancy nodded in understanding. "Yes of course. Well, I am here for the latter of those two choices, but if you help me with my questions I'll help you with the cleaning. It would only be fair." _Plus, I'll get the chance to go through these rooms without drawing attention. _

The woman seemed to think on it before giving a curt nod. "Grab that second pile of towels and follow me." Nancy smiled and did as she was told, picking up the towels and heading into the first room.

The woman immediately started dusting off the TV stand. "Just put two towels in the bathroom and take out the old ones. So what questions do you have? I can wait for each one or just start answering the ones I've already been asked."

Nancy smiled to herself as she picked a dirty towel off the bathroom floor. "Why don't you start with what you've told the others and then if I still have questions I'll ask them."

"Ok, well to start out I've been asked quite a bit about the old Mistress. Mistress Gramgee was fairly old when she first got ill so it wasn't much of a surprise to the staff that she came down so hard. Got pneumonia and just never got over it. She had it for several months before it finally took her and in that time she rarely left the house. She'd lie in bed and read constantly and would only get out of bed for an hour or two at a time. She couldn't go much of anywhere without the pneumonia anyways so it wasn't a big change for her. She had a hip replacement about five years ago and hadn't walked the same since. That made her real bitter. She used to like going into town and having a drink or two with her friends, but she couldn't do any of that and her friends were too lazy or too drunk to make there way up here to see her." The woman moved to making the bed.

"Mistress Gramgee wasn't too pleased about that. She got real lonely and started pestering the servants. It was fine at first because we all felt bad for her, but then she started calling us at all hours of the night asking for books to read, or water to drink, or to fluff her pillow; you know, things that could've waited till morning. Then one day when she was feeling pretty good she decided to sneak out and go down to town for a drink she'd been craving. She didn't make it too far though; it was pouring and she slipped on the porch. Poor woman was out there an hour in the rain and cold before we realized she was gone."

"Her Nurse, Loretta, found her and got her back inside. She was a shivering and a shaking, but she swore the whole way and screamed for a scotch. Course, no one obliged her. A few weeks later she started getting real tired and had these horrible bags under her eyes. She got out of bed less and when she did it was as if she was carrying a thousand-pound-book-bag on her shoulders. She would hunch over and walk real slow. Loretta looked her over and that's when we found out she had pneumonia. She lasted for a couple months, but finally it got too much for her. She was real mad because her grandson was out of the country on business and even when he heard how bad she was he refused to return home so as she got close to death she started making up all these wild stories and illnesses trying to get him home, but he wouldn't. He's a business man and it is business first, family second. There was no profit in him coming home so he didn't."

She sighed slowly before falling silent. Nancy who had long ago finished with the towels and was now wiping a mirror let her rag freeze. "Is that all or would you like to add something?"

"Well," she bit her lip looking for the right words, "I hate to be a downer, especially without solid proof, but I really believe this to be true. I think Mistress Gramgee may have made up the story of finding the map in order to get her son home. That treasure has been a legend for years and maids and butlers have searched for it for every one of them, but never have we turned up a clue. That's why I highly doubt that Mistress Gramgee, who might I remind you was nearly always in bed, actually acquired the map. She'd have to be incredibly lucky."

"Or incredibly smart; do you know where she could have hidden it had she found the map?"

"No, but she didn't so I'm not too worried."

Nancy nodded. "Still, I'd like to think I'm not wasting my time on a non existent quest so we'll assume it exists."

"Suit yourself."

"Is it possible that when I'm done helping you, you could point me to her room?"

"Sure, but you won't find anything; the entire room has been redecorated and a closet has even been put in. It was started when Mistress Gramgee finally accepted she was dying and finished after she was gone."

"Yes, well, be that as it may I'd still like a look. Next I'd like to ask you some questions. What do you know about the Mistress's grandson?"

"He was a greedy boy and is now a greedy man. He always takes the easy way to his dreams and is a sourpuss when he doesn't get his way. That is why he brought you all in to search; it saves him time and effort. He was in fast food as a teenager, he was a cop in Phoenix for a while, but when he saw he was going no where he moved into business where he must be successful. He travels a lot and can still afford this castle so it must be going well. He's hardly ever here so I can't help you very much."

Nancy smiled pleasantly. "That's understandable. What about Timmy Bass; what can you tell me about him?"

"I take it you're investigating the murder too?"

"That's the plan."

"Well, you're the first person to ask me that. I was wondering when you sleuths would get your heads out of your arses and realize that a murder is more important than some stupid competition. Well, Timmy was new here. He was hired shortly before the Mistress died to work in the kitchen. One of the other chefs had a death in the family and he was called in quickly to replace him. Replacements are always fast here because we're like a factory; we have our assignments, we do our assignment, and we do them in order. If one person is missing and cannot do their job the entire factory shuts down. He was the youngest person on staff when he joined us and took a great interest in that treasure you're looking for both before and after the death of Mistress Gramgee. He would spend all his time outside the kitchen searching for clues and snooping around this place. I think he fancied himself a CIA spy or something. He was always hush hush about his snooping and he'd write these huge letters to his brother every week. I read one once and it was a bunch of nonsense about cooking. They must both have wanted to be chefs. Anyways, it is a tragedy he died, but I've got no doubt it is because he put his nose where it didn't belong. Curiosity killed the cat and it likely killed Timmy Bass. Anymore questions? We're done with this room so if not I can take you to the Mistress's room before I move to the next hall."

Nancy thought a moment before nodding. "Yes, that'll be all for now. What was your name so I can find you again if I have anymore questions."

"It's Lillian Carver. By the way, I should thank you kids for moving that body out of the library; I was dreading cleaning that room this morning and was pleasantly surprised to find you'd already done my job."

Nancy blanched. "What do you mean?" she asked her voice full of confusion.

"I mean the body is gone and so is every trace of it. You mean you didn't move it?"

Nancy shook her head. "No, it wasn't us, but I'll ask around and see if someone else felt the need to move it." Nancy smiled politely, but on the inside her thoughts squirmed. You just don't mess with a crime scene and a house full of sleuths should know that. Something told her their killer had been in the library last night and they had missed it.

HHHHH

Frank felt bad, no he felt worse than bad, he felt ignored and by Nancy of all people. He had woken up before her this morning and had looked over the bios she had started filling in information where he could and that hadn't pleased the female sleuth when she awoke two hours later. She had leveled a cool glare at him when he had greeted her with a cheerful, "Good morning," and had walked straight to the shower where she had finished in record time. Upon emerging she had stood in front of the mirror in a green sweater and black pants braiding her hair in silence. She glared the entire time at his reflection.

Frank had opened his mouth to say something several times as he continued working on the bios, but each time Nancy diverted her gaze from his reflection and to her weaving. Once she had a perfectly smooth braid secured she had moved for her shoes and after sliding them on had finally decided to acknowledge his presence, but only briefly. "Frank," she had said.

"Yes?" he had replied looking up from his work.

"I don't see why you feel the need to complete my work, but since your neglecting to interview the employees like you said you would last night I'll pick up the slack."

That had burned, no, seared him and he was a bit confused about it. "Nancy, we're a team. We always help each other with the tasks."

She seemed not to hear him as she reached the door to their room. "Well, I'm off to the servants' floor and then I'll probably have lunch with Max to find out if our midnight coffee drinker ever showed up. Tell Lexi when she wakes up to check out the body in the library again." Then she had walked out.

Now, as Frank continued working on her bios, he was a little ticked something he had never been with Nancy before. She was being completely immature about the state of their relationship. He had done the gentlemanly thing by keeping her from kissing him when she was so emotionally distraught and she certainly couldn't expect him to do the same thing to Callie as Ned had done to her. She was being a hypocrite and Frank despised of that because the Nancy he knew and loved, purely as a friend of course, wasn't a hypocrite. She was brilliant, beautiful, kind, mature, and very importantly forgiving and something had changed that, something by the name Ned Nickerson. Frank growled; now he was ticked at both Ned and Nancy and that was no good for his bios. He hissed frustration before shutting the notebook and falling back on his bed arms crossed.

Things had never been this hard. Sure they had been in some sticky situations such as their run in with CIA kids and Russian Spy Bessmarkov and they had nearly died in Egypt, but through it all he and Nancy had always been close, almost inseparable.

HHHHHH

Nancy gasped as she entered Mistress Gramgee's room. It was gorgeous. There were tapestries on the walls and the entire room was lilac. The furniture sported Victorian tassels and the bed spread was a maze of vines and flowers. The room was also twice the size of her guest room.

"So this is where Mistress Gramgee lived her last days."

Nancy walked to the bed and ran her hand across it feeling silk beneath her fingers. The maid had left her alone and she was glad because she would feel embarrassed doing what she was about to do with someone watching. Taking a deep breath Nancy hoisted herself onto the bed and crawled to the center settling among the pillows. She faced forward in imitation of Mistress Gramgee and stared at the lilac walls with its rows of wooden pegs holding together the wooden boards, tapestries, and pictures. _So this is what Mistress Gramgee saw everyday._

Nancy sighed. "This would be so depressing. Just sitting here thinking day after day that you were going to die and that no one cared." Nancy mused to herself. Her thoughts lingered a while longer on the woman as she silently counted pegs, but soon her thoughts turned to Frank. She had went back to their room briefly to inform him about the body, before coming to check out the Mistress's room, but he had been out. Luckily, however, Lexi had been up and was more than willing to check out the body. She had been thankful for this as she didn't wish to wake him up and ask for help after the biting comments she had made that morning.

She hadn't meant to. She had just been awake most of the night thinking about her and Ned, and Callie and Frank. Needless to say, when the sandman had finally claimed her at around three she didn't have the most sleep and had thus awoken in a rather irritable state. Though she had come to the conclusion the night before that she was being a bit hard on Frank, her groggy mind registered only one word when she saw him over her papers; anger. He wasn't supposed to be doing something nice for her. He was supposed to be as angry at her as she was at him. She had, after all, made her anger more than obvious the night before, but he wasn't and that fact was making it hard for Nancy to stay mad. Why couldn't he just cooperate and stick to the argument rather than making her like him even more? _Why in the world do boys have to be so difficult? This mystery was supposed to be fun; it was supposed to take my mind off of failed relationships; not put me in the biggest failed relationship of my life, the nonexistent one._ _This plain stinks. _

Creak Nancy tensed as she heard a sound come from her left. She instantly became aware of her defenseless state. The girl detective rolled slowly on the bed, careful not to make any noise. Her blue eyes grew wide as she realized the closet door, which was merely feet away, was slowly creaking open!

* * *

**A/N How's that for a cliffie? Well, I hope after a hiatus this chapter didn't disapoint you because I worked really hard on it. Well, I'll have chapter 12 up in the next few days. I'm just exstatic to be back right now! **

**Luv ya,**

**Politicalblonde**


	12. Strike Three

**To My Wonderful Readers,**

**A Disclaimer: I do not own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. That honor belongs to Stratemeyer Syndicate and Simon & Schuster. I do, however, own Lexi and Claire. I have original stories on them and may eventually post them on fiction press; that all depends on how much you like them. **

**Most importantly I must thank you all for your amazing reviews. I love reading them and they always make me smile.**

**Well, I'd love to thank my wonderful BETA reader, msnancydrew, for all her hard work. Please thank her too if you review.**

**Otherwise, I hope you have enjoyed the fic thus far and will find this chapter quite interesting as I worked hard to make it so.**

**Luv ya,**

**Political Blonde**

* * *

**CH.12 Strike Three**

_Creak_ Nancy tensed as she heard a sound come from her left. She instantly became aware of her defenseless state. The girl detective rolled slowly on the bed, careful not to make any noise. Her blue eyes grew wide as she realized the closet door, which was merely feet away, was slowly creaking open!

Nancy took a quick and silent breath before springing into action. She jumped up on the bed grabbing a large and rather old looking painting that was hanging above it before hopping down to the floor. The door had paused momentarily upon hearing her actions and Nancy took this hesitation as an opportunity to thrust her back against the door. It slammed shut and Nancy heard someone hiss in pain. Shifting her position while still pushing on the door she took the large painting and shoved it under the door knob. Whoever had been hiding in there wasn't getting out now.

Nancy stepped back, her heart beating fast. That had been close, but now she needed to find out who was in the closet. "Who's there?" She was met with silence. "Answer me."

There was a groan from the other side of the door. "What do you want with me? Why do you have me locked in here?" The voice replied hoarsely.

Nancy felt herself relax a bit. "Answer my question. Who are you and why were you spying on me?"

There was a dry chuckle and Nancy could tell her captive was a female. "I wasn't spying on you. Do you mean to tell me you're not the one who hit me over the head and shoved me in here?"

Nancy bit her lip and moved to the door. "Tell me who you are and I'll let you out."

"I'm Yvonne, Yvonne Mars. I'm in the competition. Please let me out. I don't know how long I've been in here," She pleaded.

Nancy nodded to herself before moving the picture and opening the door. Light flooded the small place revealing a red-headed woman with a deep red blazer, ruby red nails and lips, and red stilettos. She was leaning against the back wall and covered in dirt. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light.

"Are you ok?"

"Just glad I'm alive. I thought for sure I was going to be the next murder victim."

"I am so sorry about that," Nancy apologized as she knelt before the woman. "I didn't know you were in here so when I heard the door I thought maybe the murderer was spying on me. If I'd of known you were in trouble I wouldn't have slammed the door on you."

The woman gave a weak smile as she clutched her head. "It's ok. I understand perfectly. I'd of probably done the same thing."

Nancy stood offering the woman her hand. She gladly took it and Nancy hoisted her up. "What happened to you?"

The woman, still clutching her head, shook it slowly. "I don't really know. I was out early this morning searching the grounds when all of a sudden I felt something come crashing down on my head. Next think I knew I was waking up in a small dark room. I banged on the door a while, but I guess no one heard me. The pain in my head was so bad that I had to rest every few minutes. I must have fallen asleep because when I awoke just a few minutes ago I could see light slipping under the door. So I decided to try it and to my surprise it had been unlocked. You, of course, know the rest."

Nancy nodded. "Yes, let's get you to your room and I'll get some aspirin for you."

"No, that's ok. I think I'm better now. I'll just walk back to my room and sleep it off. I wouldn't want to interfere with your sleuthing."

"It's alright. I wouldn't mind walking you back."

The woman smiled gratefully, but again shook her head. "No thanks. I promise I'll make it. I'll see you at lunch though."

Nancy nodded reluctantly. "Ok, if you say so." Nancy watched as the woman exited the room. Her red stilettos leaving small dirt stain circles on the carpet as she went.

Once she was gone Nancy turned back to the room deciding it would be prudent to check the closet for any clues to their mysterious murderer. If of course, it was the murderer who had locked her in there. She didn't quite understand why he or she didn't just kill Ms. Mars.

Nancy sighed. Perhaps she should ask that Hanc W.D. Smith guy, Claire had mentioned he had worked on serial cases so perhaps he could give her some insight into the mind of their killer. With that thought cemented in her mind Nancy moved to the closet. She would ask Hanc at lunch.

HHHHHH

Lexi stared at the empty chair where the night before a body had sat, the body of Mabby Wiy-Fapp. Now the chair was empty with only a blood stain to act as a reminder there had once been a body there. Lexi sighed and pushed a loose strand of hair out of her face as she bit her lip in concentration. Dead bodies didn't walk away themselves and she knew that so sometime last night someone, likely the killer, had been in this room and she was determined to find some evidence supporting this known fact.

Crouching beside the chair she reached in her back pocket and removed some plastic gloves which she slid onto her hands. She didn't want to contaminate any potential evidence. She started by looking around the base of the chair, but a few minutes of close examination revealed it was clean. So that meant the body had been wrapped in the plastic again before being dragged or carried away. It would help to know which was the case, so Lexi looked around the chair for any indication that the carpet had been flattened. She looked for any section of floor, the size of a body, in which the carpet fibers were all facing the same way. There were none.

"So the body was carried out," Lexi whispered to herself. "That means our killer must be strong enough to lug around a body. I'll have to check Ms. Wiyy-Fap's room to see if she has ID. I need to know how much she weighed." This decided Lexi decided to move onto how the body exited the room. She knew of only three ways, the door, the passage, and the window. Deciding to start with the easiest she walked over to the window and attempted to open it. It wouldn't budge and careful examination of the seal revealed it was painted shut. The killer hadn't used that way. Inspection of the door was a dead end. There was nothing to support it being used or unused so Lexi moved to the passage door.

Lexi sighed in frustration as she checked the boards on the inside of the door. There were clean and while there were footprints in the dust on the floor she didn't know if they came from the killer or from Nancy and the other sleuths the day before. Her legs were burning as she crouched in the dark following the light of her flashlight. She had so far come to a single conclusion; this secret passage needed serious cleaning and something needed to be done about the spiders.

Groaning at the stiffness in her legs Lexi stood her hand falling limply to her side sending the beam of her flashlight over the footprints again. There were several sizes and patterns, zigzags with circles, swirls with circles, squares with circles. Lexi paused and wrinkled her brow in thought. _Circles_. She again crouched much to the dismay of her burning legs. She pointed her light at the circles in each footprint noting they were all the same size. In fact, some of the zigzags and swirls didn't have any circles at all which meant they had come after the other footprints. Lexi smiled, their killer had used the passage; that much she knew. Now if only she knew what had made these circles.

HHHHHH

Frank awoke bleary eyed and confused. He hadn't meant to fall asleep when he had lain back on the bed. He had just wanted to clear his thoughts. Clearly, his body had preferred sleep. He stretched feeling his back pop before sitting up. The room, he could now see, was empty. Frank groaned; he had missed Lexi getting up and hadn't told her to work on the body in the library.

Sliding himself off the bed he walked over to his shoes and put them on while checking himself in the mirror. His shirt was a bit wrinkled and his hair slightly mussed, but otherwise he looked fine. He made his way back to the bed and picked up the bios he had been working on. He slid them back into Nancy's manila folder before returning them to her bag. He made sure to lock it and reset the combo. If they could walk in and out of other people's rooms than other people could do the same. This done he retrieved gloves, bags, and a flashlight from his bag. He'd have to check out the body now.

HHHHH

"Good afternoon Max!" Nancy stated cheerfully as she entered the dining room ready for lunch. The servants had created a delicious spread of roast chicken with lemon and she could smell it as far up as the second floor.

She had given the closet a once over, but had found nothing helpful. There was dirt from Ms. Mars clothes, bur otherwise it had seemed clean. Whoever had put her in there had covered their tracks well.

"Afternoon to you too Nancy," he replied with a smile as he motioned to the seat beside him. "I saved you a seat."

"Thanks." Nancy took the offered seat as she looked at the other sleuths who had come for food. Yvonne was sitting a few seats down in a fresh red blazer and Theodore Nottingham was near the head of the table with a book in one hand and a fork in the other. Nancy waved hello as Yvonne looked her way before turning to Max. "So did you catch our late night coffee drinker?"

Max shook his head in disappointment. "Nope, I stayed up until 12:30 and no one ever claimed their brew so I ended up having some myself. It was rather bitter by my standards. Must be the type of grounds they chose. Did you know this mansion actually has flavored brews? I had honey this morning."

Nancy shook her head. "No, I wasn't aware." She reached over and grabbed some chicken and a roll to set on her plate. They looked absolutely delicious. "So have you seen Hanc anywhere?"

"Smith?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Nope, can't say I have. Why?"

"Oh, I was just hoping to ask him about serial killers and what he thinks of the poetry. We understand it is a warning, but why give a warning and not say who it is for?"

Max took a bite of his chicken and chewed on it as he thought. "Well, I'll have to agree that doesn't make a bit of sense. Are you sure these poems don't tell you who?"

"I haven't seen any names."

"Well, maybe their not obvious. Seems to me that if I was a serial killer and was going to the trouble of writing warnings I'd want my victims to know they were next. It heightens the thrill, but I wouldn't want to spoon feed the name to them. I'd want them to work. I'd want it to be a game of cat and mouse, a game that would last."

Nancy gave him a strange look and he chuckled. "Don't look at me like I'm crazy. I'm not your serial killer, but I am a criminal psychologist. It is my job to think like a criminal. I also worked for the CIA for a few years analyzing potential agents and their reaction to stress."

Nancy relaxed. "Oh. Sorry about that, but for a minute there you scared me."

Max smiled. "Yeah, I have that affect on most people."

Nancy laughed and folded her napkin before setting it on the table. "Well, lunch was lovely, but I think I'm going to go find my team and let them know what you told me. See you around." She stood and pushed her way around her chair.

Just as she was out she felt a hand grab hers. "If you start going through those poems let me know and I'll see if I can help. We could start tonight at dinner, say six o'clock?"

Nancy smiled politely trying to shake the nervous edge from her voice. "Actually, my friends and I probably won't start on that tonight. We'll probably start drawing maps or something."

"Well, you could just join me, you know."

Nancy felt cold. "No thanks, maybe some other time."

"Oh, come on. I know you and Frank are still fighting and it would give you an excuse to avoid him."

Nancy again shook her head this time pulling her hand from his. "I think I can survive Frank, but thanks anyways." With that said Nancy spun quickly and headed out the door trying to shake the goose bumps on her arms.

HHHHH

Frank Hardy was honestly relieved when he entered the library to find Lexi hard at work. She was crouched at the entrance to the passage way and she smiled as he made his way up the stairs. He was a bit confused though to find there was no body in sight.

"Glad to see you're awake Frank," Lexi commented as he stopped before her. "Rest well?"

Frank nodded. "So where is the body?"

Lexi shrugged. "Gone. Nancy told me it was gone when the maid came in here this morning to take care of it. Says the maid didn't know who touched it. I've been checking for evidence for how it was moved. I've come to the conclusion it was rewrapped because there are no new blood splatters. I also decided it was carried since there are no disturbances in the carpet fibers. I finally concluded our killer used the passage because of these." She pointed at the circles in the footprints. "They are all over, some in the zigzags some in the squiggles so they were made after the footprints. I am fairly sure they are from our killer. I'm just at a loss for what they could be."

Frank knelt beside her and thought for a moment as he stared at the circles. "Well, they are on the floor so they could be from a cane. I've seen a few men with canes in this house."

"Yeah, it could be, but how would someone with a cane lug a body through this passage. I just don't see it."

"They could have had help. We know these prints were likely made when the body was moved but that doesn't mean the person physically moving the body made them. In fact, I'd be surprised if only one person moved the body. No large patches of dust are disturbed and in order to close that door behind them they would have needed to put the body down and pull it. Also, they wouldn't be able to see. It is pitch black in here so they would need a flashlight and it is unlikely they could hold onto a flashlight and a body. That means someone else would have to hold a flashlight. Likely the same person who used a cane."

"So you're saying our killer had an accomplice?"

"That is exactly what I am saying. I'd also like you to notice the size of these circles. They're the same as that red circle on the plastic the body was wrapped in so this isn't the first time they've had help."

Lexi grimaced. "So now we've got to watch our backs for two people instead of one. The odds against us just got worse."

HHHHH

Joe couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Claire emerge from the mud pit looking very much like she had taken a mud bath. The brown substance stuck to her jacket, was indistinguishable from her hair, and caked to her feet.

Claire glared at him upon hearing his chuckle. "I'll have you know my pores must be perfect right now; that was practically like a spa. I feel positively gorgeous." A large chunk of dried mud chose this moment to detach itself from her hair and crumble on her shoulder. This sent Joe into fresh chuckles.

"Yeah, I can see it was _just _like a spa. Well, gorgeous did you find anything?"

"No, you?"

"No, it seems our body snatcher is pretty good at what they do. At least good enough to outsmart a couple of Class A sleuths like ourselves."

Claire snorted as she began shaking the mud off herself. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a real bath. What do you say to heading back to the castle?"

Joe smirked. "I say I'll beat you to it."

Claire stopped shaking and put her good hand on her hip. "Oh really? Well, Hardy, we'll just see about that." And with that she spun on her heel and took off crashing through the bushes leaving a mixed trail of dried dirt and wet mud in her wake. Joe shook his head before starting his chase. This would be too easy.

HHHHH

Joe emerged from the tree line with barely a sweat and feeling very accomplished. He had overtaken Claire in only a few strides for an easy and definite victory. Slowing his pace he slid his hands into his jacket and made his way towards the steps of the castle to sit and wait for his teammate. The sun was high in the sky and Joe knew it must be around lunch time. There was a sudden and timely growling sound in his stomach. Yes, it was certainly lunch time.

Whistling pleasantly to himself Joe took a seat on the middle step facing the trees. He scanned the line of evergreens and other trees awaiting Claire's emergence. Suddenly the breeze picked up and Joe shivered as he watched the trees sway. It was as he was watching this swaying motion that he noticed something odd hanging from a tree in the distance. When the tree had fallen still it had continued to twist as if it were hanging loosely. Curious, Joe halted his whistling and decided to check it out.

Joe stood up and made his way towards the tree squinting his eyes in an attempt to see through the canopy and shadow. Whatever it was it was big and it had finally halted its motion. There was a crashing to Joe's left which he assumed to be Claire, but he didn't turn to check it out for as he stepped nearer a sinking feeling entered his gut and the shape became clearer. Five feet away and the object became obvious. Joe grimaced as he took in the body hanging limply from the tree before him a note secured firmly to its shirt by a safety pin.

Joe heard a female gasp from behind him and knew Claire had finally arrived. "It seems our killer has struck again just as he said he would," she noted in a horrified whisper.

Joe didn't bother affirming the obvious fact and instead reached for the note knowing full well their killer had struck again and that the note would be yet another poem, yet another warning. He wasn't disappointed.

_Number Four_

_Now you my fair maiden, I am quite pleased to say, are my victim number four._

_What joyous luck, might I add, that at last your due time is come_

_And what fortune for you that despite such unique deaths I still can produce something more._

_Now pay attention my dear for your single, brief preview:_

_Cold as ice, and wet as rain, provide conditions befitting your deliberate end_

_Due is the slow shivering, stalling of blood; the necessary steps of hypothermia._

_Realize, right now, you deserve what you get, for justice is all I ever lend_

_You stuck your nose in too far and meddled too, too much_

_Ensuring your death from a frozen diamond's harsh touch._

Joe felt his stomach plummet as the sadistic poem came to a close. He turned to face Claire and shoved the warning into her hand. "We have got to figure this out. He's going to strike yet again and we have got to figure out who his next victim is before it's too late."

An ashen faced Claire looked up from the poem and nodded. "Yeah, we may not have been able to save Hanc W.D. Smith here, but we've still got time to save victim number four."

* * *

**A/N- So now we've got advancements in the mystery, but at the same time more questions. That sure does seem to happen quite often. So here are some of the questions:**

**Who is the accomplice?**

**How do they know about the passages?**

**Where are the bodies?**

**And most importantly: WHO IS VICTIM NUMBER FOUR?**

**By the way, has anyone figured out the poems yet? I ask that if you think you have, please send your idea to me via a message and not via a review. I don't want anyone to read a review and have it spoiled for them. **

**Thanks so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you thought in a review and please be sure to thank msnancydrew for BETA reading this fic. She is incredibly helpful.**

**Luv ya,**

**Political Blonde**


	13. Poems Offer Every Murderous Secret

**Disclaimer: I do not currently and never will own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. I do, however, own Lexi and Claire and adore them to death. **

**Well, sorry for the massive delay, but my computer time revolves around my grades in school and I've got PreCalculus Honors this semester, my worst subject. Needless to say, I failed a test with a 30 so the requirement to get my laptop back was to make an A. I made a ton of 90's, but we are on the 93+ grading scale. As of Wednesday I officially made a 95 on my test so I have my pc back. I must say I've never seen my email sooo full. **

**Well, I hope you all still enjoy and please thank my wonderful BETA, msnancydrew, who works hard and puts up with my sudden disappearances. **

**Luv ya,**

**PoliticalBlonde**

**

* * *

**

**Ch. 13 Poems Offer Every Murderous Secret**

Nancy was surprised upon entering the corridor that housed her room to hear frantic voices coming from her room. Picking up her pace the titian haired sleuth entered to find Joe gesturing at his neck violently as Claire leaned against the window covered in mud. Lexi was sitting Indian style on the girls' bed and Frank was on the floor propped up against it with a piece of paper clutched in his hands. Nancy's brow furrowed in question. "Can I safely assume that you all had rather eventful days?" She shut the door behind her as the four sleuths turned to look.

Claire sniffed sharply. "That, Nancy, would be the understatement of the year. To sum it up, we've figured out our killer has an accomplice, both our bodies are missing, and on the bright side we now know the identity of victim number three because we found him hanging from a tree with yet another warning pinned to his chest."

Nancy bit her lip before walking over to the empty bed and dropping onto it. "So which of you is going to start and with what?"

Joe spoke up. "Claire and I were just telling them about the dead body we found so I'll just start over. For one, our victim was Hanc W.D. Smith."

"What! I've been looking for him to help us with the poems," Nancy gasped.

"Well it doesn't look like he'll be too much help now. Anyways, we found him just as the poem said he would be; attached to a noose. He's on a tree to the left of the front steps. He also had the fourth warning attached to him. You can read that when Frank is done, but basically the next victim will be subjected to hypothermia. We really need to get down to business and solve these poems before our killer gets his hands on a fourth victim." Joe suddenly punched his right hand with his left fist. "I am done playing around. We need to take action."

"I'm with Joe, we need to focus on these murders and as part of that I think we need to find those bodies quick. We can't leave so they've got to be on this property somewhere. We've got a huge mansion and I think the best way to do a thorough search is to map this place out. We said we'd do it for the treasure and never got to it, well, it's time we did it for the murders. Frank and I combed the library today and we found our body was removed via the passage, but I have a hard time believing our killers just walked out through the kitchen with a body. I think there are more passages."

Frank nodded as he stood up and passed the poem to Nancy who took it and read it over carefully her brows knit in concentration.

_Number Four_

_Now you my fair maiden, I am quite pleased to say, are my victim number four._

_What joyous luck, might I add, that at last your due time is come_

_And what fortune for you that despite such unique deaths I still can produce something more._

_Now pay attention my dear for your single, brief preview:_

_Cold as ice, and wet as rain, provide conditions befitting your deliberate end_

_Due is the slow shivering, stalling of blood; the necessary steps of hypothermia._

_Realize, right now, you deserve what you get, for justice is all I ever lend_

_You stuck your nose in too far and meddled too, too much_

_Ensuring your death from a frozen diamond's harsh touch._

"I can't believe this guy; he is still treating this like some type of game! He's so proud of being able to think up new deaths!" Nancy proclaimed in frustration. "I'm with you guys; we have to find this guy and stop him." She paused a moment, "And what do you mean both the bodies are gone?"

"Easy; they were there and now they're not," Joe muttered in angrily.

Frank glared at his brother. "Joe," he warned, "Now is not the time to be getting hot headed. We need to stay calm and collected so we can get to the bottom of this."

"I am calm and collected," the younger Hardy retorted, his arms crossed like a petulant child.

"Yes, we can see that. Now, Nancy; Lexi and I went to check the library and we made several startling discoveries. For one, our killer used the passage to remove the body. Two, the killer has an accomplice, and three, one of them uses a cane. Remember that circle of blood that was on the plastic we found around Mabby's body?"

Nancy thought about it for a moment, picturing the plastic and the small scarlet circle, before nodding.

"Well, we found that in the footprints in the passage way. We also realized there is no way someone could have opened that passage door with a body in hand. It is too heavy and the passage is too narrow to have managed it alone."

Nancy ran a hand through her titian hair and sighed. "I've got to agree with you; I had a hard time getting through that passage myself and I didn't have a corpse to carry." She shifted positions on the bed so that she was sitting up higher. "Well, my day certainly wasn't as exciting, but I did learn a bit about Mistress Gramgee. What is most helpful is she was bed ridden at the time of her death due to severe pneumonia. She spent her last weeks annoying the servants out of their minds with requests including books. So I'm betting somewhere in the library is where we'll catch the break we've been looking for." She twirled her hair around her finger, "But, I know we've got more pressing matters, so I say we set the treasure aside and get rolling on these murders."

"Joe and I will start mapping this place out. I've got a feeling we'll find there are more passages than that one from the library to the cellar."

"And Lexi and I will start searching rooms for the gun used to kill Mabby; it's the only weapon that wasn't with the victim."

"And I'll get to those poems. I think I know someone who can help," Nancy finished determinedly.

"Let's use the watches Lexi and I brought! If we get a break, we need to inform each other immediately," Claire commented as she stood and crossed the room to her bag. She rummaged through it a moment before frowning and muttering something to herself. She shut the bag and moved to Lexi's before rummaging through it with a look of confusion. Finally she looked up. "I can't find them. You don't think I left them out and the maid got them do you?"

Joe snorted and shook his head. "Not likely. I'd ask Nancy to look for hers, but I think we all know that would be futile."

HHHHHHH

Frank rubbed his eyes as he tried to focus on the blueprints before him. He and Joe had immediately began their mapping of the manor upon the ending of the team meeting. They started by measuring rooms themselves and attempting to draw them, but in all honesty neither could draw very well. It was with this mindset Frank thought to check the library in hopes that among the many books they would find some old blueprints of the house. It had taken them an hour, but finally they located, in a stack of books on a corner table, a book of family history with blueprints stuck between many of the pages. Both boys had been ecstatic as they would now be able to simply check the blueprints against the actual manor, but unfortunately luck was not on their side. The blueprints were drawn to scale and the scale was given, however, they had to take a ruler to every line and find as close to the actual length as possible and this was time consuming. They had both tried getting the lengths at first, but Joe quickly got bored so when the first page was done he had immediately volunteered to take it and check it while Frank did the next page and they had been using that system since.

Frank glanced up as the door to the library swung open and his brother walked in whistling with yet another blueprint rolled up in his hand. "Hey, bro, I checked as much of the third floor as the guests would allow and everything seems ok. Every measurement added up. I must say I like doing this so much better than drawing everything out; I actually have time to talk to people while I'm working and get the feel of this place about the murders. I met this one maid, lovely girl, just now and she seems to know all the gossip in this house; told me that everyone still thinks we did it and that Bernice from group six has been asking people if they should barricade us in our room, so we might want to watch out for that. I'm too young and handsome to be falsely imprisoned." Joe had now reached the table and set the blueprints down. "So, is the next one ready? I'll be glad to get this floor and the kitchen so we can be done. Which one do you have for me?"

"This floor, but I think it is my turn to check the measurements. I'm going cross-eyed staring at these papers. It's starting to drive me insane." As if to emphasize his point Frank set his head in his hands and massaged his temples.

"Aww, come on Frank, you and I both know you're better at this math stuff. I'd probably mess the whole thing up and we'd have to do it again. Besides you've only got one more; I'm sure you'll survive."

"No sympathy for you brother huh?"

Joe smirked. "Nope, none at all. I'll just take this and start in here." Joe grabbed the blueprints and began making his way around the room measuring walls as Frank sighed and returned to the tedious task of calculating.

NDHBNDHB

Nancy sighed in frustration as she closed the door to her room behind her. She'd been looking for the man since she'd split with the others and it was with little luck. She started at his room and knocked only to receive no reply. So she'd moved on to the kitchen figuring that was his favorite spot, but he hadn't been there so she had asked some of the other sleuths. No one had seen him so she had returned to her room to start on the poems alone.

Nancy walked over to the nightstand and flipped on a lamp before going to her bag and removing the poems and a pad of paper. She walked over to her bed and sat down on it, placing the stack of poems before her while sliding a rubber-band off her wrist and around her hair. Biting her lip she started with the first poem and lined them up in order before her.

"So if Max is right these poems give every clue necessary to discern the identity of the victim. The questions, however, are where and how. Let's see…victim number one was Timmy Bass." She wrote the name on the notepad followed by the poem before flipping to the next page.

"And victim two was Mabby Wiyy-Fap." She copied this name down on the second page followed by the poem before again flipping to a new page.

"Hanc W.D. Smith." She wrote the name and poem before flipping to the last page.

There she only wrote the poem.

Nancy capped the pen and slid it behind her ear before flipping back to the first page and reading over the poem.

_Ahh yes you are number one,_

_You man of dirty hair_

_I see you wish I'd end my fun_

_So you'd no longer despair!_

_So run I order, flee I say_

_My, the chase is most enticing_

_The suspense a joyous thing_

_But I promise, my knife will come slicing_

_Moments before you utter your last breath!_

"Let's see. What details does this give?" She scanned it over carefully. "Dirty hair is brown hair and the poem states he would be a man. So that would eliminate a major portion of the people here, but it isn't specific enough. And the only other detail is that a knife will be used to kill him." Nancy frowned and pulled the pen from behind her ear to twirl it in her fingers. "That isn't enough."

She sighed and flipped to the next poem. "What about this one?"

_You are cordially invited to your death_

_My victim number two_

_As I have grown tired of your wasted breath_

_And decided to murder you_

_Psycho I am and mad I'll be_

_But over your shoulder you'll still look_

_In hopes of evading me._

_But alas, so much like a book_

_You will abruptly come to an end_

_For a shot to the head_

_You yourself can't defend_

_When you're snug and asleep in your bed!_

"This one stated the victim would be shot while asleep and in bed which happened. And the line dealing with, "so much like a book," is probably a reference to Ms. Wiyy-Fap's occupation as an author, but otherwise this poem doesn't narrow down the victim either."

Nancy bit her lip and flipped to the next page a sense of dread settling in her stomach. This was going to be difficult. "So the next victim was Hanc W.D. Smith."

_Hello my most honorable, highly esteemed victim number three._

_I have waited and watched and inevitably decided_

_A fate just splendid, just stunning, just perfect for the._

_String wrapped, once, twice, still more tightly,_

_While you teeter upon the edge awaiting a swift drop._

_Clean, silent, cheap, effective._

_Nooses are only best when they snap to a stop._

_May you twitch, and may you gasp, and perhaps even utter a swear_

_Dying at my hands you'll surely be. I'm certain you know_

_The absolute blessing of your dire role, is the_

_Honor at being a part of my… little… show._

"This one only gives the means of murder. I can't find a single detail relating to the identity of the victim."

She flipped to the last page and scanned the poem looking for details.

_Now you my fair maiden, I am quite pleased to say, are my victim number four._

_What joyous luck, might I add, that at last your due time is come_

_And what fortune for you that despite such unique deaths I still can produce something more._

_Now pay attention my dear for your single, brief preview:_

_Cold as ice, and wet as rain, provide conditions befitting your deliberate end_

_Due is the slow shivering, stalling of blood; the necessary steps of hypothermia._

_Realize, right now, you deserve what you get, for justice is all I ever lend_

_You stuck your nose in too far and meddled too, too much_

_Ensuring your death from a frozen diamond's harsh touch._

"At least this one lets me know the victim is a woman and this person is likely a sleuth since she, 'meddled too, too much.' There still, however, isn't enough detail. So why would the killer write the poem if he didn't want the victim to know who he was referring to?" Nancy sighed and fell back on the bed deep in thought. "I've got to be missing something."

She again sighed trying to bring some tangible idea to the front of her mind while her hand subconsciously snaked into her pocket and around her engagement ring. Immediately a memory pushed its way to the front of her mind, a painful one. Nancy scrunched her eyes unable to stop the memory of her and Ned on their last date before he had proposed.

She had just gotten back from a case involving a stolen painting in Switzerland and to celebrate she and Ned had gone to the lake for the day. It had started with a picnic which had been followed by swimming and ended with her and Ned lying on their towels looking up at the stars. They were both tired, but content to be together.

_Nancy smiled watching the twinkling of one star while sneaking peeks at Ned lying beside her. He had a goofy grin on his face and Nancy got curious. She propped herself up on her elbow with a smile on her face as she looked down at her boyfriend. "What's the goofy smile for?"_

_Ned only grinned wider. "Nothing."_

_Nancy rolled her eyes. "Ned Nickerson, you know I won't buy that. Now what do you have up your sleeve?"_

_Ned pushed himself up to a sitting position before standing with a smile on his face. He glanced out at the water and then down at Nancy. "Fancy a swim under the stars?"_

_It only took Nancy a moment to register what he had asked, but a moment was all Ned needed as he reached down and scooped her up against her protests and ran out onto the dock before jumping in with her still in his arms._

_The water was cold as Nancy hit it and it rushed up her nose making her splutter. Ned only laughed as her head breached the surface and she glared at him from under her flattened hair. "Ned Nickerson, you'll pay for that."_

_"Nah, I won't. You love me too much to do me any harm."_

_Nancy crossed her arms as her feet sunk into the sand on the bottom. "And you don't love me enough to refrain yourself from tossing me in freezing water?"_

_"It's because I love you that I tossed you in here. You look absolutely stunning when wet."_

_Nancy snorted, but smirked. "I guess I'll have to try this look more often. But, seriously Ned, I think you owe me an apology for doing that without warning."_

_Ned sighed and swam over to her before wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace. "How about I do you one better?"_

_"And just how will you do that?"_

_"Why I'll make your dream come true and sing you a song all about you."_

_Nancy laughed. "That isn't my dream! Bess is the one who wants some handsome guy to serenade her. Besides, you can't carry a tune, Nickerson."_

_Ned pulled away looking offended. "I resent that. I can too carry a tune and I'll prove it to you." He cleared his throat before starting off in the cheesiest baritone Nancy had ever heard._

"_N- is for now and forever,_

_A-is for always together_

_N- is for Nancy Drew,_

_C- is for caring for you,_

_Y- is for you and me,_

_D- is for detective you_

_R- is for real good times_

_E- is for evening swims_

_W- is for what we have."_

"_I love you Nancy Drew." Ned smiled as did Nancy before leaning in for a very wet kiss. _

Nancy shot up on the bed with a gasp before frantically flipping back to the first poem. "It couldn't be!"

* * *

**A/N- And this is where many of you scroll back up to the poems and finally work it out so you can get the 4****th**** victim's identity. I must say, I'm excited to have this chapter up. I hope you like the way the poems turn out and took note of the relevance of the chapter title. Please review as I always look forward to hearing from you and thanks a ton to those of you who have reviewed in the past.**

**And on a side note, check the website I have set as my homepage. It is a link to an awesome video my friends made in which they rap to Dasani Water. I find it to be hilarious and I think you will too. **

**Luv ya,**

**PoliticalBlonde**


	14. N is for Nancy Drew

**A/N- Sorry for the quite long...few years delay in updating. I had my entire hard drive wiped after a bad virus and lost not just this story and all my story notes, but all my other fanfics and original stories in one blow. It was just hard to write anything after losing everything you've worked so hard on. You keep having this feeling that what you wrote the first time around was better and anything new just sounds like garbage in comparison.**

**Anyways, I don't own Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, just the King twins. I hope this update compares well to my earlier work.**

**Much luv,**

**Political Blonde**

* * *

**Ch. 14 N is for Nancy Drew**

Nancy pulled her notebook closer to her chest as she walked through the corridor. The hallway was deserted, but she could hear music several floors below. Her stomach growled and she figured it must be around dinner time. She glanced over her shoulder as her heart pounded in her chest; she really wished she had gone searching for weapons with Claire and Lexi or had gone to do blue prints with Joe and Frank. Walking through an empty corridor all alone was the last thing she wanted to be doing. But knowing someone had been able to enter their room and steal the CIA watches the King twins had brought, she hadn't felt safe sitting there waiting. She needed to tell the others what she had figured out right away.

Nancy felt a cold weight settle in her stomach as she felt the notebook in her hands. Four little poems were the biggest clues to their murder mystery and Nancy Drew, forever the sleuth, had just cracked them, but she wasn't feeling good about it. Nancy had awoken from her memory of Ned serenading her to the realization that the names of the victims might be right in front of her, and it had only taken a few minutes to prove this idea true.

_Victim Number One_

_**A**__hh yes you are number one,_

_**y**__ou man of dirty hair_

_**I**__ see you wish I'd end my fun_

_**S**__o you'd no longer despair!_

_**S**__o run I order, flee I say_

_**M**__y, The chase is most enticing_

_**T**__he suspense a joyous thing_

_**B**__ut I promise, my knife will come slicing_

_**M**__oments before you utter your last breath_

Nancy had quickly circled the first letters of each line in the poem for victim number one. A, Y, I, S, S, M, T, B, M and began crossing them off as she arranged them to form the name Timmy Bass, victim number one. With one poem down Nancy turned with excitement to poems two and three.

_Victim Number Two_

_**Y**__ou are cordially invited to your death_

_**M**__y victim number two_

_**A**__s I have grown tired of your wasted breathe_

_**A**__nd decided to murder you_

_**P**__sycho I am and mad I'll be_

_**B**__ut over your shoulder you'll still look_

_**I**__n hopes of evading me._

_**B**__ut alas, so much like a book_

_**Y**__ou will abruptly come to an end_

_**F**__or a shot to the head_

_**Y**__ou yourself can't defend_

_**W**__hen you're snug and asleep in your bed!_

Y, M, A, A, P, B, I, B, Y, F,Y, W. A few moments of crossing off letters and Nancy quickly produced the name of their second victim, Mabby Wiyy-Fap.

_Victim Number Three_

_**H**__ello my dearest, my honorable, highly esteemed victim number three._

_**I**__ have waited and watched and inevitably decided_

_**A**__ fate just splendid, just stunning, just perfect for the._

_**S**__tring wrapped, once, twice, still more tightly,_

_**W**__hile you teeter upon the edge awaiting a swift drop._

_**C**__lean, silent, cheap, effective._

_**N**__ooses are only best when they snap to a stop._

_**M**__ay you twitch, and may you gasp, and perhaps even utter a swear_

_**D**__ying at my hands you'll surely be. I'm certain you know_

_**T**__he absolute blessing of your dire role, is the_

_**H**__onor at being a part of my… little… show. _

H, I, A, S, W, C, N, M, D, T, H…Hanc W.D. Smith, victim number three. Nancy stared at the poems for a moment, a mix of horror and dread settling in her stomach. The entire sadistic affair sent a shiver up her spine. Someone had put time into these murders, carefully crafting poems and turning the brutal assaults into a game. Nancy flipped her notebook to where she had written the fourth poem. This was it. Had Nancy and her team solved the poems sooner they could have saved some of their victims, but now Nancy had a chance to warn whoever was next. She hastily circled the first letters with her pencil.

_Victim Number Four_

_**N**__ow you my fair maiden, I am quite pleased to say, are my victim number four._

_**W**__hat joyous luck, might I add, that at last your due time is come_

_**A**__nd what fortune for you that despite such unique deaths I still can produce something more._

_**N**__ow pay attention my dear for your single, brief preview:_

_**C**__old as ice, and wet as rain, provide conditions befitting your deliberate end_

_**D**__ue is the slow shivering, stalling of blood; the necessary steps of hypothermia._

_**R**__ealize, right now, you deserve what you get, for justice is all I ever lend_

_**Y**__ou stuck your nose in too far and meddled too, too much_

_**E**__nsuring your death from a frozen diamond's harsh touch._

N, W, A, N, C, D, R, Y, E. Nancy stared at the letters a moment and she mulled over the poem. The poem had referred to the next victim as a maiden so Nancy began to focus on female names. CANDY WREN. Nancy wrinkled her nose as she wrote the name down. While a female name, Nancy knew from the bios she and Frank had worked on that no one, either sleuth or servant, held that name. She quickly scratched it off the list and stared at the letters another minute. They were uncomfortably familiar and Nancy felt herself tense.

She bit her lip as she wrote down N and crossed it off her list of letters, followed by A, N, C, Y, D, R, E, W. Nancy Drew. Nancy felt goosebumps on her arms as she stared at her name on the paper. It had used all the letters, no more, no less. She was victim number four.

Nancy moved slowly down the stairs to the next floor wondering if her team was already at dinner. She had already covered her floor and the floor below looking for her teammates with no luck. It would be much safer she surmised to head to head downstairs and remain with a crowd rather than walking alone through the halls where she could easily be attacked, but what if her killer was at dinner? If she went downstairs, they'd know where she was and could easily follow her until they caught her alone. No, the best thing was to find someone she could trust and to do so quickly. Nancy took a deep breath and tucked a strand of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear, the nerves stubornly set in her stomach as she turned the knob on the first door, "Lexi, Claire, Joe?" She took another deep breath upon seeing the empty room before her. "Frank..." she whispered, "I need you."

NDHBNDHBNDHB

"This must be Mrs. Gramgee's room," Claire gasped as she opened the door to a beautiful Victorian room of lush violet linens and wall hangings. "Nancy wasn't kidding when she said it was lovely."

"Yeah, it's quite breathtaking, and full of antiques. We'll need to be careful while we're searching," Lexi responded as she glanced over an embellished oak vanity. The beautiful piece was adorned in pearl white roses inlaid into the oak structure. "Why don't you search in here while I check out the wash room?"

"Sounds like a plan."

Lexi pulled open the grand wooden door nestled in the corner of the room and carefully closed it behind her. The wash room was just as brilliant as the bed room, done in rich green colors. A wallpaper of vines and brightly painted parrots covered the walls and a cream claw foot tub with brass fitting was pushed against the back wall. Lexi noted a towel warmer on the wall beside it before turning to face the vanity.

The vanity, like the pieces in the bedroom appeared to be made of oak and was adorned with shimmering flowers and vines. Lexi bent down to open the cupboard under the sink, the only apparent means of storage in the small room. It was empty, save for the layer of dust which had settled upon the bottom. It seemed housekeeping had not felt it necessary to upkeep this room in the absence of the late Mrs. Gramgee. Lexi's ears perked up as she heard her sister speaking in the other room.

"Nancy! You scared me. Did you sort out those poems already?"

"Yes, and you're not going to believe it; the names of our victims were in front of our faces the entire time."

"What do you mean?"

"The first letters of each line were part of the victim's name. They just needed to be unscrambled."

NDHBNDHBNDHB

Frank sighed as he finished measurements on the last blueprint. Joe should be back soon and they could finish their assessment with the main floor and the cellar. Frank felt his stomach growl and realized that it must be around dinner time. He had been staring at blueprints for hours and he was ready for a break. Standing up, he stretched, twisting his neck side to side and rotating his shoulders as he attempted to loosen his cramped body. Sitting for hours hunched over papers had taken its toll.

Frank ran a hand through his dark hair and wandered over to the library window. The sun was beginning to set, but there was at least a good hour of light left in the day. Frank watched the leaves of the trees shake lightly in the wind. He could see several sleuths sitting out on the front terrace with plates of food. The body of the third victim, Hanc W. W. Smith had been removed from the tree with the help of several of the sleuths and had been stored in a spare bedroom until they could get in touch with the police, so the scene outside the window shown only as serene.

Frank's mind drifted to Callie. He missed her and he was sure she was missing him. He'd have an earful when he got back for not having contacted her all this time. She'd yell until her anger was spent and then Frank would explain the situation. Callie would whimper and gasp in all the right places as he shared the events of his trip. They would then hug and kiss while Callie stroked his hand and asked him to promise her things wouldn't be this way when they were married and had a family. Frank would promise to try and make things better. The routine had become all too familiar.

Frank wasn't ready for marriage yet; it wasn't that he didn't care for Callie or that he didn't want to be with her someday, he just wasn't ready to commit the rest of his life to a minivan and garden clubs. Callie didn't want to get married and spend a few blissful years of marriage with just the two of them; she wanted to have the proper house with a family and she wanted dinners around the table at six with board games and television before desert. She wanted Frank to move into detective work for the Bayport Police or some other job with consistent pay and home ties. She didn't want him to give up sleuthing entirely; she just wanted him to give up going to the far corners of the globe for a mystery and to give up the dangerous operations. Frank simply wasn't ready to give that all up, but he might be one day.

That was why Frank couldn't leave her. Sure, he wasn't ready for that kind of life yet, but he could be one day and it wouldn't be fair to Callie to break her heart only to figure out he wanted to share in her dream marriage years later. He and Callie had been together for years and she knew things about him no other girl did, not even Nancy.

Frank sighed as his thoughts turned to Nancy. Was she ready to put sleuthing on the backburner? She had certainly committed without hesitation to marrying Ned, but then she had left him in an instant for a case. Maybe marriage to Nancy hadn't meant giving up her passion. He'd never heard her mention kids or soccer vans, maybe being married just meant being in love and always loving no matter what your partner might be passionate about.

Frank smiled as he thought of Nancy. He certainly cared for her and at some points when things between him and Callie had been rough he'd even fancied himself in love with her. It killed him to see her so upset and distracted. Ned was an idiot to not see how great a catch Nancy was or to realize that there was more than enough room in her heart for him and all the mysteries that might come her way. She was beautiful and the strong like his mother and Frank admired that about her.

Creak.

Frank was startled out of his musings by a soft creak from behind him. Turning slowly he looked around the library. The room was still empty, the door closed firmly.

Creak.

Frank focused on the creak of floorboards. It had been so quite he was scarcely sure he'd heard it.

Creak.

Frank moved forward as the whisper like sound echoed through the room once more. Someone was walking on this floor, perhaps Joe. Quietly as possible, Frank moved across the floor to the door and pressed his ear to it.

Creak.

The sound echoed through the room but Frank was certain it had come from behind him. Frank turned to face the direction of the sound, nothing but chairs and bookcases. Adrenaline rushing through his veins, Frank approached the tall shelves laden with books.

Creak.

The sound was definitely coming from behind the bookcases. Frank pulled a row of books out as quietly as he could and set them on the floor before pressing his ear to the back of the shelf. He could clearly hear movement from behind the unit, but it was fading away. There must be another passage behind the wall!

"Hey Frank, you'll never-"

Frank held a hand up as his brother's voice entered the room. Joe looked at his brother curiously before approaching the bookcase. "Hear something?" Joe whispered as he came up beside his brother.

Frank nodded and moved so his brother could listen. "Someone is moving behind this wall. I think this might be another passage."

NDHBNDHBNDHB

"The first letters of each line were part of the victim's name. They just needed to be unscrambled," Nancy responded handing her notebook to Claire. She felt as if a knot in her stomach had slowly unravelled upon finally opening a door to discover one of her teamates. The killer had been getting exactly what he or she wanted. Nancy had felt herself growing increasingnly nervous and uncomfortable each empty room she glanced inside. "The killer has been naming his victims this entire time."

"Amazing," Claire whispered running her finger down the page of Nancy's notebook. "Terrifying, but amazing. And have you figured out the next victim?"

Nancy grimaced and nodded. "Turn the page."

Claire abruptly flipped the page and moved to the bottom of the page. "Oh my gosh Nancy; you're the next victim!"

Nancy nodded, the familiar feeling of ice in her veins.

"We've got to get the Hardy Boys. We can't just let you wander around and I'm sure they'll know how to protect you. Believe me Nancy, now that we know what these killers have planned we'll make sure they never get away with it. Just let me-"

"Don't move." Nancy and Claire jumped as the closet door flung open. "Put the notebook on the floor and kick it over here," a female voice snapped as a gun moved from the shadows followed by a slender figure in red pencil skirt, her black heels digging into the carpet. Claire did as she was asked. "Now, put your hands up. I don't want any funny business," the woman continued with the hint of an accent as she fully stepped from the shadows.

"Yvonne Mars," Claire stated recognizing the woman from roll call, "So you're our killer."

"Clearly darling," Yvonne replied her gun trained on the two girls, "Where is your sister?"

"Lexi's searching for secret passages with the Hardy Boys. Are you planning on killing us?"

"No darling, I'm simply aiming my fully loaded gun at your heart for the fun of it. Now shut up and move next to Nancy. Good girl. Miss Drew take this," she tossed some rope at Nancy, "and tie yourself and Miss King together. And do it right, I'll know if you don't and I don't like it when people disobey."

Nancy bent slowly and grabbed the rope. "It seems your plan has gone awry Yvonne. I thought I was supposed to freeze not be shot."

"Oh you'll get exactly as planned Miss Drew. I just can't very well torture you where everyone could hear your screams. Tighter Miss Drew."

"You're Russian," Nancy guessed as she pulled on the ropes and knotted them.

"Very good Miss Drew. Care to tell me something I don't know, like perhaps, where are the rest of your notes and the originals?"

"Safekeeping," Nancy replied curtly.

"You're an idiot Miss Drew. We'll get it out of you one way or another. I'm quite well trained in torture." Yvonne stepped forward her gun trained at Nancy's head and tugged on their bonds. "Very good Miss Drew. It seems you are experienced with knots." With a smirk she produced two scarves from her jacket and tied them around the girls' mouths and then grabbing Nancy's hands she extended the fingers before slamming the gun down on Nancy's knuckles. Nancy's scream was muffled by the gag as tears slid down her face. "There, now I won't have to worry about you untying yourself." Yvonne stepped away from them and moved towards the wash room door. Nancy felt Claire stiffen behind her and knew that Lexi must be hiding in there. Yvonne thrust the door open and pointed her gun inside. "All clear darlings, very good. Well then, I'll suggest you say goodbye to the world of the living because this is last you'll see of it. Into the closet now, and for god's sake Miss Drew cease your tears. I've hardly given you a reason to cry yet."

* * *

**Well, I hope that chapter was has good as my old ones. I know it is quite a bit different from the one I had prepared years ago. The story bones are still the same, I'm just a different writer now. Please let me know what you think.**

**I appologize for keeping you waiting.**

**Much luv,**

**Political Blonde**


	15. Double Crossing

**Ch. 15 Double Crossing**

Nancy's fingers throbbed painfully as she and Claire attempted to maintain their balance as they were ushered through the closet passage. She tried again to move them slightly and had to bite her lip to hold back the whimper of pain. She was sure at least two fingers were broken, possibly more.

Claire's back was pushed against hers as the young teen attempted to maneuver backwards through the dark space. Yvonne had produced a small flashlight which was trained on the floor before them. Nancy couldn't turn enough in her binds to see their captor, but she was sure Claire's compliance meant the gun was still trained on them. Nancy stumbled over a loose stone and felt the rope around her arms dig into her skin.

Claire shifted her weight to keep Nancy from falling, her footsteps falling heavy on the wooden floor. Yvonne narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "No foolish moves darlings. I can very easily have a slip of my finger and no one would ever know." She swung the flashlight along the wall settling on an old wooden door. "Ah, yes, here we are. Kick it Miss Drew; loudly so he can hear you."

Nancy swung her foot out and connected with the door as a solid knock echoed through the tunnel. The door remained closed, but Nancy could hear noises in the distance and suddenly a light shown from beneath it. Her stomach clenched. She had been doing the math in her head and she and Claire might have been able to take on Yvonne if they could finagle their way out of their bonds and get her separated from her gun, but against more than one attacker their odds of escape were slim. She was sure Claire had come to the same conclusion as she felt her stiffen in their bonds. Nancy felt her heart racing as heavy slow footsteps sounded from behind the door and a metallic screeching reverberated around them.

Suddenly the tunnel was awash with light and Nancy squinted against the sudden harshness. "Why good evening Miss Drew, so glad to see you've reconsidered our dinner."

NDHBNDHBNDHB

Lexi held her breath as she heard the door to the bathroom open and the click of heels crossing the tile floor. She could feel the u-bend of the sink digging into her back, but she didn't dare adjust herself. She had been ready to exit the bathroom and join her sister and Nancy when she had heard a third voice entering the room demanding that the two girls not move. Lexi's hand had paused on the door handle listening as the situation in the bedroom deteriorated. Her eyes had darted around the barren bathroom, frantically aware that at any moment Yvonne Mars would most certainly verify Claire's fib. Her eyes had landed on the small bathroom cupboard. It would be a tight squeeze, but just maybe.

From her hiding space beneath the cabinet Lexi listened as Yvonne entered the room, scanning for any sign of her or the Hardy Boys. "All clear darlings, very good. Well then, I'll suggest you say goodbye to the world of the living because this is last you'll see of it. Into the closet now, and for god's sake Miss Drew cease your tears. I've hardly given you a reason to cry yet."

Lexi felt her stomach relax a bit as Yvonne's heels clicked back into the bedroom and her mind shifted into overdrive. She now understood what those circles in the dust had been. They were far too small to be cane markings as Frank had suggested, but they were the perfect size for a pair of high heeled shoes. Lexi pushed the cupboard open slightly her ears focused on the noises coming from the bedroom. She could hear Nancy and Claire unceremoniously stumbling across the bedroom, likely towards the closet, followed by the more graceful padding of Yvonne.

Should she go after them? No. Yvonne had a deadly weapon and Lexi was unlikely to be able to sneak up on her. She gritted her teeth as she heard the closet click shut knowing that every minute she waited her sister and Nancy came closer to their deaths. They weren't dealing with a hostage situation, this woman and whoever she was working with were known killers and Lexi had no doubt that she would happily dispose of the both of them. The silence in the room was thick as Lexi finally extracted herself from the cabinet. She needed back-up; she needed Joe and Frank.

NDHBNDHBNDHB

Frank sighed as he stared at the pile of books before him. Several of the library shelves were now empty, but he and Joe were no closer to discovering an entrance to their secret passage. The sound of heavy footsteps had halted several minutes ago, so whoever was behind this wall had already moved on. "Joe, anything over there?"

"Nah. I'm just seeing wood paneling. If we knew what was back here we could just try removing it, or maybe knocking it down…" Joe trailed off with a shrug. "Whoever got back there didn't come through here, and these books would be awfully inconvenient to move just to get in and out of a passage- so I've got a feeling we won't find an entrance in here."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I just wish I knew where they'd gotten back there. I'm just—" Frank was cut off abruptly as the door to the library was flung open and a bedraggled Lexi rushed in her face flushed and panting.

"Lexi, what's wrong?"

"Joe, Frank; She's got them. It's Yvonne Mars and she has Nancy and Claire," Lexi panted her face awash with fear. "She snuck up on us maybe twenty minutes ago. I managed to hide, but they are tied up and she took them by gunpoint into this secret passage. I couldn't go after them alone I'm sorry, but I ran all the way down here as quickly as I could. I-"

*CRASH* Lexi and Joe jumped as Frank took one of the library chairs and slammed it against the bookshelves. Joe reached out and grabbed his brother roughly by the arm "What the hell Frank? I know you're worried about Nancy, but smashing things won't solve anything."

"I'm not just smashing for the hell of it," Frank snapped yanking from Joe's grip. "Nancy and Claire were kidnapped and rushed away down some secret passage." He reached for another chair and again slammed against the bookshelf. *CRASH* This time the wooden shelves splintered. "We just heard mysterious noises from a secret passage behind this wall."

Joe's brow furrowed and he nodded. "So you think it was them," He turned towards the shelves his face determined. "Well then let me help you out." He reached forward and tore the splintered shelves from their pegs. "Lexi, grab anything that can be used as a weapon. Frank, you've managed to make a hole here and I can feel cold air. I think it is safe to say we can break into this passage."

Lexi nodded and crossed the room towards the curtains. Frank and Joe each grabbed another chair. *CRASH* "There's more guys," Lexi continued as she yanked hard on the curtains, "Nancy was just telling Claire how she cracked the clues." Yank. "Our killers have been giving us the names of the victims all along. You just had to take the first letter from each line of the poems and unscramble them." Lexi gave another full bodied yank and the curtains came crashing down. She quickly knelt down and removed the rod. "And you're not going to like who came up as victim four—Nancy"

_Nancy_. Frank grabbed the final chair in the room his veins pounding with adrenaline. His hands tightened around the arms as his heart constricted. He couldn't help but think about their last kiss and the fallout from it.

_Frank had pushed her away. __"Nancy, we can't. I'm sorry but I've got Callie waiting for me back in Bayport and I couldn't do this to her. I'm sorry." He'd let his hands slide off of Nancy's arms._

_"Oh, that's right, Callie." Her voice had been calm and any other man would have been unconcerned, but Frank had flinched. He had known her long enough to recognize the anger hidden in her words._

_"Nancy, don't be this way. It was a mistake to kiss and you know it. I've got Callie and you were emotional." Her eyes were boring into him, stormy blue meeting brown._

_Nancy slid roughly off the bed and stood. "You're right. I shouldn't have kissed you when I know you're still with Callie and I'm probably more emotional than I should be."_

_"If you agree than why are you angry?"_

_Nancy crossed her arms across her chest. "Because I'm so damn tired of this." She threw her hand up between them. "I'm so tired of this being a mistake. For once, God, just for once, I wish that this wasn't a mistake, Frank." Nancy turned on her heel and headed for the door._

_"Nancy," Frank pleaded reaching for her arm but Nancy flinched away, "please don't be like this. It isn't-"_

_"It isn't what? Your fault? You're right it's mine. I don't have a single claim to you. You're just a friend and that is all you've ever been but that doesn't change the fact that it hurts. It hurts every time you mention Callie. It hurts every time we have these moments and then have to turn around and pretend nothing happened; it hurts and it shouldn't."_

_Frank moved to stand but Nancy held up a hand to stop him. "No, I've dealt with it before. This never happened." Nancy gave a sad smile and turned away her blue eyes awash with regret._

Frank couldn't let Nancy die. Not with such animosity between them. Not with that look on her face. Nancy was strong spirited, caring, and her blue eyes could light up a room. That is what he loved about her. He couldn't let her die with that look in her eyes. Frank heaved the chair above his shoulder and slammed it into the bookshelf. *Crash* The wood splintered around him as Frank catapulted forward over the chair and slid onto the cold wooden floor of the tunnel.

NDHBNDHBNDHB

"Maxwell, darling, I checked the room. There was no one else there. Can't we just commence the torture and get this over with? I'm bored," Yvonne whined as she adjusted her aim on Nancy and Claire. Nancy had been surprised when the door had opened to reveal the pushy yet charming former CIA agent. He'd inspected the two girls with a sneer before reaching out and yanking Nancy forward by her injured hand. Nancy's cry of pain was muffled by the scarf in her mouth as Claire stumbled from the sudden movement and the two sleuths hit the floor of the boat house. Nancy immediately knew they were far from the house. They had traipsed all over the woods and never once come across this building.

They were now sitting on the edge of a dock, their feet bound tightly- Max's handiwork. He had been quick to bound their feet and hands before undoing Nancy's ropes. Nancy could see Claire shivering beside her. Nancy could already feel her extremities going numb either from the cold night air or the ropes cutting off her circulation. Her blue eyes scanned the dock in hopes of some stray metal or protruding nail, but to no avail, and Max had made sure Nancy and Claire were far enough apart to be of no help with each other's knots.

"You know I can't do that Yvonne. We have to be absolutely sure they haven't told the others. It was sloppy follow up that got me into this mess in the first place." He stood up from the table he had been hunched over, a pair of pliers in his hand. "Now Miss Drew, I am going to remove your gag, but I wouldn't pull any funny business if I were you. Miss Marskoff here is a highly trained Russian agent, and she knows all sorts of unimaginable torture methods that will make Miss King squirm." He leaned in close to Nancy's cheek his breath hot on her face. "Besides Nancy, no one will hear your screams out here. It's a big estate." He reached forward and yanked the gag from her mouth. Nancy gasped and her lungs filled with the cold air.

"Now Miss Drew, shall we do this the hard way or the easy way?" He twirled he pliers around his fingers. "I'm really quite tired and you'll die either way, but perhaps with a little cooperation I might find the heart not to torture you first. Where are the original poems and who have you told?"

"As far as I can tell those originals are the only thing standing between me and death so I don't think I'll be sharing anytime soon. And as far as who knows, you're looking at us. Miss Marskoff made sure Claire was it—she cut me off before I could tell anyone else."

Max snarled and swung the pliers against her head. Nancy groaned as she felt warmth trickling down from her temple. "Don't be foolish Miss Drew. You aren't protecting your precious Hardy Boys by lying to me. They're already on my list for the absolute ruin your meddling brought to my life."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about Max. It seems to me you planned to kill all of us long before we ever stumbled on your secret clues and murderous streak."

"Oh, Miss Drew, I'm not referring to my poems. Those were just a bit of show. Life gets boring in hiding. No, I am referring to your little escapade on the S.S. Duchess. You ruined my career when you took out my contact Miss Drew. You and those Hardy Boys."

"You were working with Bessmarkov? But, you were CIA."

"Yes, so I was. If only they had treated me better and paid me a bit more for my silence, then I may not have fallen so easily to Miss Markoff's charms. Espionage does carry quite the pay check, but you and those boys had to go and ruin the drop I spent months setting up. When I found out about your little stunt it was only a matter of time before it would be traced back to me. I had to give up everything- flee the country, change my name. I haven't lived in peace in quite some time."

Nancy's eyes narrowed in defiance. "And now you want revenge."

"Very good Miss Drew. You are quite the detective."

"So why bring everyone here and just start killing. Your problem is with the Hardy Boys and I, not Timmy Bass, Mabby Wiyy-Fap, Hanc W.D. Smith, or anyone else here." Nancy just needed to keep him talking, keep him distracted. Nancy knew Lexi had been in that bathroom and it was only a matter of time before she brought help. They just had to give her the time.

"Maxwell, darling, you're wasting our time. Just kill the bitch and we'll search her room. She doesn't need to know all the details."

"Shut up Yvonne. I have been waiting for this for a long time. I want my moment with her same as the others. I promise you'll get your fun," Max growled angrily. "Now, to your question Miss Drew. You're right I don't have a problem with all of you; just some of you. This house, this treasure, this mystery, I'm just taking advantage of them all. Spent some time in India while on the run, and I must say you do meet the most interesting people in bars. A few beers down his throat and Mr. Gramgee will tell anyone about his grandmummy's treasure hunt and her love for mystery novels. It only took a few seeds in his mind to orchestrate this charade. Oh, how interesting your mystery is! Oh, your poor grandmother! Have you thought about help? I can be such a friendly guy when necessary" Max's voice thundered through the room with high pitched mockery.

"I just pretended I was some big wig writer. Told him I thought it might be interesting to turn it into some sort of contest. I've been reading about you Miss Drew and your Mystery Train adventure gave me the idea. Mr. Gramgee was all too excited at the prospect of the treasure being found. He really is such a greedy old man. Offered me a chance to visit his home, showed me these secret passages. He's quite the show off too." Nancy snuck a glance at Claire wondering if she too had seen the sudden movement in the back of the room. The door they had entered before had moved slightly and a long metal rod was slowly making its way through the air and to the desk across the room.

"All I had to do was whisper a few names to get some of my worst enemies added to the invite list. Mrs. Wiyy-Fapp isn't just a writer. She was my supervisor back when I worked at the CIA. She only became a novelist in retirement. The woman was a horrible bat from the moment I entered the offices. She always called me princess or buttercup; she loved to humiliate me. 'Get my coffee buttercup. I'd replace you with an intern in a second if they didn't need clearance.' She had to go and she had to go quickly." Claire shifted beside Nancy and cocked her head slightly. She too could now see the pole coming close to the desk and she had also become aware of its target. There were several guns hanging above the desk, intermixed with various torture devices.

"Mr. Smith didn't really know why I hated him. He wasn't CIA so he never knew what he got himself into. I snuck back into the states for a while. Life on the run abroad gets miserable and I needed money. I holed up in the Phoenix area. There is a CIA base there that I did my training in. I thought I'd kill a few of the agents after me and empty their bank accounts. Mr. Smith got to close. I was lucky enough to find some punk to frame as a serial killer, but I had to flee again." Nancy could barely breathe as she saw the metal rod loop through one of the handles and carefully lift it from its hook. She just had to hope Max would keep talking.

Yvonne shifted. Her annoyance at Max's story was clear. "Max. Can I at least kill the blonde one?"

"In due time darling." He turned to face Claire. "I am so sorry Miss King, you really weren't on my list. You and your sister just happened to be mentioned on the news while I was talking to Mr. Gramgee. He thought it would be delightful to send you an invite. Had you not been so keen to meddle in a murder mystery you wouldn't be in this position." He turned back to Nancy. "You see what happens when you sleuth Miss Drew, you gain collateral damage."

Nancy glared at him defiantly, thinking quickly to keep him talking. "I didn't choose to kill anyone; you did. What about Timmy Bass? He was staff here. Why kill him?"

"CIA agent, well CIA office clerk. He worked with me before I ran. He was apparently fired after I was exposed; all the office staff were. I happened to see him through the kitchen window on my visit. Thank goodness his job kept him behind the scenes. He would have exposed me the moment he saw me. I knew that as soon as I got on the property again I had to kill him. Unfortunately you and the Hardy Boys were late to the pub. I had planned to get you three grouped with Mrs. Wiyy-Fapp and Mr. Smith, but I eventually couldn't save the seats. People hate sitting alone. I rigged the car so I could take care of you all that night. But I must say I improvise well."

Nancy's eyes darted to Claire. The pole and gun had silently slid behind the door, and a familiar hand had reached out and motioned for them to roll. Claire and Nancy locked eyes and then Nancy glanced at the water below. They just needed to avoid that water and everything might work. The hand at the door held up three fingers, than two, than one.

Nancy and Claire both launched themselves at their captors as Joe burst through the door with gun in hand and Frank and Lexi rushed for the desk. Max stumbled backwards, the pliers flung from his hands as Nancy's weight suddenly hit him. "You bitch!" He snarled reaching out and yanking her hair. A shot rang out somewhere in the room and Nancy hoped it had been Joe behind the trigger. Max roughly flung her in front of him as he came to stand- frantically placing a human shield between him and a now armed Frank.

Nancy's eyes darted to her left to where Yvonne was laying on the ground her hands bleeding profusely and the gun nowhere in sight. Claire was struggling to stand beside her as Joe focused his gun on the Russian spy. Nancy turned back to Frank her heart pounding in her chest. He was angry. She could see his brown eyes darting over her body, taking in the blood on her head and her purple swollen hand. "Let her go Max."

Nancy gasped as her head was yanked back roughly. "I don't think so Mr. Hardy. You're love for Miss Drew is the only thing keeping me alive right now. I'm not about to lose my advantage."

Frank glared at him for a long moment and Nancy could tell he was thinking. Frank finally shook his head. "You're wrong Max. I don't love Nancy. I have a girlfriend back home. Her name is Callie and she expects me to come home. We're going to be married and have a family. The sooner this is over the sooner that can happen. If I let you get away that will never happen, you'll keep coming after us." Frank adjusted his fingers on the trigger. "So if you make me shoot I will."

Nancy felt sick to her stomach. She knew Frank wouldn't really let her die; they were friends, and that was all she should really be concerned about at the moment, but even if she got out of this he still wouldn't love her. Frank would save her so he could start his life with Callie. Frank took a step forward and Max shifted her painfully.

"I'm warning you Mr. Hardy. I've killed before. Just a few steps and we're both in that icy river. I can swim, but I hear it is difficult to do so when bound."

Nancy screamed as Max's hands suddenly ripped from her hair. She could hear Max grunt as she fell forward, her body twisting to see what had happened. Claire, still tied and gagged had launched herself forward at her captor. In slow motion Nancy watched as their bodies fell towards the water, Claire unable to halt her momentum with her hands and feet bound. The young sleuth and the murderer reached the edge of the dock and Nancy could see Claire's eyes widen in fear, suddenly aware of her mistake just before she and Max continued over with a splash.

* * *

A/N Sorry for the extremely lengthy delay. Spent the last several years in college and completely forgot about this. Found the story again while transferring files to my new computer. Hope this helps. One more chapter after this.


	16. Treasure and Talks

**CH.16 Treasure and Talks**

Joe watched as Claire and Max hit the water in slow motion. Somewhere behind him Lexi screamed for her sister and rushed forward, but Joe was faster. "Frank, tie her up. Lexi, go find someone on the staff. I can't imagine no one has contact with the outside world. I've got Claire." He kicked off his shoes as he searched the water for the blonde teenager. In the distance he could see Max starting to swim away. Claire was nowhere in sight. Bracing for the cold Joe jumped in.

Joe spluttered as the stream bubbled around him and his knees hit the bottom. It was only a few feet deep. Pushing himself up onto his feet Joe pushed forward, wading through the icy water. In the darkness he could just make out a blonde head attempting to push out above the water. Claire! Joe launched himself forward and slid his arm around the struggling teen. With his other arm he wrenched the scarf gag from her mouth.

Claire immediately began coughing and gasping for air. "Get me-cough-to-cough-the edge. Max hit-cough- the rocks pretty hard."

Joe nodded and waded towards the side of the stream, careful to keep Claire's head above water. "Don't worry, I've got him," Joe said with his award winning Hardy smile.

"Not if you waste too much time flirting with the damsel in distress."

NDHNDHBNDHB

Claire pulled the towels tighter around her as she sat in front of the living room fireplace. She smiled as Lexi set a cup of hot chocolate in front of her. "Thanks sis."

Lexi smiled warmly. "No problem. I'm just glad you're ok. We could have been in some serious trouble if that water had been any deeper."

"You're telling me," Claire chuckled. "I had the 'oh crap I am going to die' moment just before I hit. But it all turned out ok; just like it always does."

"True, just like it always does. Just be glad Joe was able to catch up with Max or this could have dragged on."

"Definitely. I'm not too keen on the psycho revenge driven killer thing." She took a sip of her chocolate. "So how is Nancy's hand?"

"Well she gave her statement to the police and then Frank whisked her off in one of the patrol cars to get her hand looked at."

"So they're talking?"

"A bit; it was rather shallow. Mostly about her hand. I don't really think Frank gave her a choice."

"Of course he didn't. My brother can be pretty stubborn," Joe added sideling up and draping his arms across the back of Lexi's chair. "How are you doing princess? Warming up?"

"I am not a princess Joseph Hardy. In case you don't remember I did knock an ex-CIA agent on his butt while bound and gagged."

"And then I had to rescue you from a raging stream. As I remember you were a damsel in distress."

"You caught me in an off moment," Claire snapped, her face bright with a flirty smile. "But, seriously, does this mean the whole treasure thing is done? I really wanted to add successful treasure hunt to my resume."

Joe grinned. "Not necessarily. I got a chance to talk to Nancy before my brother whisked her away. Seems Max unknowingly gave her the final clue."

Lexi and Claire perked up at this. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, Joe spill. I didn't hear this oh so elusive clue."

"Well, Max said Grandma Gramgee was constantly reading mystery novels right?" Claire nodded. "Well apparently Nancy was talking to one of the staff a few days ago and found out all she could do in her final days was read in her bed. She kept having novels brought to her. Now Frank and I tore apart that library—no mystery novels. Nancy, however, found them her first day."

Claire frowned. "She hid the map in some mystery novels? How ironic, but if they weren't in the library where did Nancy find them?"

"Look behind you super sleuth."

Claire glared, but pulled herself out of the chair anyways. Sure enough there was a lonely book shelf in this room, loaded with a number of mystery novels. Claire dropped the towel on the chair and moved to the shelf. One by one she pulled the books from the shelf. As she removed a dark brown leather book from the second shelf a piece of parchment paper fluttered to the floor. Claire bent down and slowly unfolded it, her face breaking into a wide grin. "Well guys, it's the map; we won!"

HBNDHBND

*1 Week Later*

Nancy cringed as the heat of the curling iron came close to her neck. "Are you sure you've done this before, Claire?"

The blonde haired girl rolled her eyes as she looked at the elder teen in the mirror. "Of course," she replied dropping Nancy's titan curl, "Albeit I haven't done it with this arm in a while." She happily waved her right arm. "Can you pass me the hairspray, Lexi?"

Lexi laughed as she clasped one of her silver hoop earrings in her ear. "Get it yourself. You've got two arms now."

The other girl thought a moment before smiling. "Why I guess I do, but still, I got kind of used to having other people get things for me. I'm rather spoiled. Nancy, pass me the hairspray."

The strawberry blonde laughed. "Fine, but only because you've got a hot iron to my head." Nancy handed the can over her shoulder careful not to drop it from her splinted hand.

"Smart girl," Lexi joked.

"Mhhm, very."

Nancy rolled her eyes and decided to change the topic. "It was really nice of the Mr. Gramgee to give us these tickets to Club Blue; it's supposed to be amazing."

Nancy watched Lexi nod in the mirror. "Yeah, well we did stop a rogue ex agent psycho murderer from completing his revenge hit list, and all while uncovering a secret treasure. I'd say we earned it."

"I agree; it is an amazing way to end a more than terrifying case." Claire added as she unplugged the curling iron. "Nancy, you're done and might I say you look gorgeous."

Nancy smiled and ran a hand through her hair which was curled loosely and was pinned back on one side with a butterfly bobby-pin. "It's wonderful, Claire, thank you so much."

Claire smiled. "It was no problem. I'm sure Frank will love it, especially with the scarlet lipstick. He'll only have eyes for you." Nancy brushed invisible lint off her scarlet dress suddenly feeling awkward in the form fitting ensemble. Perhaps she shouldn't have gone with the heels and opted for the flats. Claire bit her lip noticing Nancy's discomfort. "Oh, I'm sorry; I was just so excited that I spoke without thinking. You know, open mouth and insert foot."

Nancy shook her head with a smile. "No it's ok; I really shouldn't have acted the way I did. I got angry with Frank because he was with Callie and wouldn't be with me, but I never should've put him in a situation where he would have to choose between me and Callie. I was asking him to be like Ned when all I should ever want him to be is Frank." Nancy stood up and looked at her reflection in the mirror noting the way the dress shimmered like fire in the florescent lighting. She smiled. "By the way, I agree, he'll love it."

"So let's go party!" Lexi laughed as she clasped a white belt around her black skirt and smoothed her blue and black striped sweater.

"Yes, it is the least we can do. It's too bad the treasure turned out to be a bunch of old books. I could have done with a nice cut of gold, maybe some new earrings." Claire blew a kiss at the mirror before turning on her stiletto, her white peasant skirt rippling behind her in contrast to her pink blazer. "Let's go wow some guys."

Nancy chuckled. "Speaking of wowing guys; when Joe first saw you two he was fairly wowed, especially by the idea of one for each arm."

"Really?" the twins murmured thoughtfully a devious smile passing over their faces.

"Well we'll just have to see about that; won't we L-" Claire jumped as there was a knock on the door. Making a face she walked towards the door with Nancy and Lexi trailing a few steps behind her. "The boys are here early," she commented turning the knob, "Frank, Joe, why aren't you two dressed for the club?"

Nancy stepped over as Claire opened the door wider to allow the two brothers entrance. Joe entered first in a pair of jeans and a T-Shirt followed by Frank who wore jeans and a polo shirt. "Change of plans ladies, Frank and I've got to catch the first plane back to Bayport. Our dad needs help with a smuggling case. So as much as we'd love to escort you three lovely ladies to a club we're going to have to take a reign check." Joe sat down on their bed.

"When are you leaving?" Nancy asked turning toward the elder Hardy.

Frank looked up at her sadly. "Actually, tonight. We've got a flight in an hour. We just came to say goodbye then we've got to finish packing."

Nancy willed herself not to frown as a knot twisted in her stomach. She wasn't going to let Frank see her disappointment. She opened her mouth and replied with a neutral, "Oh." Frank slid his hands in his pocket as an awkward silence ensued. Claire and Lexi exchanged a disappointed glance and Joe crossed his arms as he rolled his eyes at the two.

"So…"

"So…" Nancy and Frank blushed and another silence ensued.

"You go first," Frank finally supplied.

Nancy nodded as she felt the knot in her stomach tighten and her mouth grow dry. "I was just going to say, Goodbye," she managed to croak. At the sound of her voice Nancy closed her eyes in embarrassment and felt hot tears rising.

She was going to cry; she hadn't yet, but she was really going to cry. Nancy slid a hand over her lips and pressed tightly. Frank had seen many sides of Nancy Drew including anger, resentment, happiness, and fear, but never had he seen this side of the girl detective and he didn't know what to do. "Nancy what's wrong?"

Nancy merely shook her head and squeezed her eyes tighter. She didn't want to talk about Frank's exchange with Max. He didn't love her; he loved Callie, and there was no point beating the subject to death. Nothing was going to change. "Just go Frank, please just leave before I say something neither of us want me to say." _Damn it, why couldn't she control herself?_

Frank recoiled from the venom with which she spoke. "But, Nan-"

"Goodbye," she snapped tersely.

Frank again stepped back in complete shock as Joe stepped forward fully aware that it was best to just leave. His eyes were glazed and his posture defeated. "C'mon Frank. We've got to catch a plane. See you Claire, Lexi. Take some time Nancy, I know you're hurting right now. Ned was a jerk, but this isn't the end. You know I love you like a sister, so when you're feeling up to it, give me a call. I'm sure we can find another mystery to solve."

Nancy nodded silently as Lexi placed her hand on her shoulder. She smiled up at Joe. "It was a pleasure meeting both of you. We learned a ton from working with you guys."

"Yeah, perhaps we can do it again sometime and you guys can give us some more pointers," Claire added.

Joe smiled and Frank nodded. "We'd like that. It's great to have people who idolize us like you do."

Claire smacked him lightly in the arm. "I wouldn't go that far, Hardy. Let's just say we have immense respect for you and someday hope to be as well known and successful as you."

Joe raised a brow at this. "Is that so? Well, I guess Frank and I will have to deal with that." He paused a moment, "I guess this is goodbye," he tightened his hand around Franks arm and began pulling him towards the door, "It's been swell, honestly." He reached the door and went to turn the knob, but Frank twisted out of his grasp.

"You look beautiful, Nancy. You really do."

Nancy grimaced as she realized she could no longer hold back her tears. One tear broke through her lashes sliding down her cheek and splashing onto her hand. She looked up at the ceiling and balled her fists in a futile attempt to reign in her emotions. "Tell Callie," she broke off as a sob threatened to escape her lips, "tell Callie I said hello." Two tears trickled slowly down her cheeks.

Frank moved to take a step forward wanting desperately to see her eyes and to let her know he wasn't trying to hurt her, but Joe again caught his arm. "C'mon, Frank."

"I'm sorry, really I am," Frank whispered causing Nancy to finally utter a strangled sob.

She nodded slowly and took a deep breath before lowering her face to give Frank a forced smile. "I know; that's why it hurts so much." With that said Nancy turned on her heel and headed for the bathroom closing the door behind her. Frank stared after her his face twisted in guilt.

Joe sighed and yanked on his brother's arm. "C'mon Frank. It's time to go." Frank merely nodded, his eyes focused on the closed bathroom door for a long minute before he turned and the two brothers left the hotel room in silence.

HHHHH

Frank exhaled slowly as he took a seat in the taxi and pulled out his cell phone. It was still in the plastic that Gramgee and his men had sealed it in. His brother was being uncharacteristically silent as he stared out the window at the English countryside. Frank looked down at the phone in his hand for a moment before ripping open the plastic and removing the electronic device.

He turned it on listening to the familiar jingle as it searched for a network. Finding one, a missed call screen immediately appeared. Frank had missed twenty-one calls in the time he had been at the Mystery Mansion. Frank sighed and listened to the first one. It was Callie.

"Frank, darling, you must be incredibly busy right now not to be picking up the phone, but I was just calling to tell you about my friend Kelsie, her boyfriend, Mark, proposed to her today at the beach. It was absolutely romantic. Anyways, call me when you get the chance. Love you!"

Frank pulled the phone away from his ear and clicked to the next one. "Frank, it has been an hour since I called you. Why haven't you called me back? I hope everything is ok. Look, Kelsie and I are going shopping soon so call me on my cell. Love you and miss you."

Frank sighed and moved to the next one. "Frank Hardy, I'm starting to get ticked. You still haven't called me so I called your mother to find out exactly what kind of case you're on. She told me it is just a competition in England so I have got to wonder why you haven't called me back. England has phones; I know they do; they're big and red. So don't use your, "I didn't have service," or, "My battery was low," as an excuse."

Frank clicked to the next message. "Frank Hardy this isn't funny. I am seriously wondering if you're taking any of our relationship seriously. You haven't called me in two days and Kelsie is on me about why you still haven't proposed. What is going on? Frank, please call me back. I'm just really worried. I love you."

Joe was now looking at Frank as the elder boy put his head in his hands and clicked to the fourth message. "Frank Hardy, Kelsie and I went shopping for a dress in New York today and you won't believe who I ran into; Bess Marvin. And you know what; she had the funniest thing to say to me. It seems Nancy Drew is in England for some sleuthing competition, but I assume you know that. Is that why you haven't called me? I'm practically you're fiancé and yet you haven't called me so it is only logical that she's the reason for it. Look, just call me, please. Tell me I'm being silly worrying about you and Nancy Drew."

Frank pressed the heel of his hand to the bridge of his nose and hit next. "Frank, I'm giving you one hour to call me back or I call Ned Nickerson. I bet he'd love to find out that you two are on the same case and that I haven't heard from you in almost forty-eight hours."

Click. "Frank Hardy, I know Ned and Nancy aren't together anymore. I know. It doesn't take a genius to know that is why you aren't calling me. I just can't believe you're doing this to me."

Click. "Frank Hardy I-"

Click. "-Call me!"

Click. "I'll bet you and Nancy-"

Click. "-ENGAGED!"

Click. "Four Days and still-"

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. "Frank Hardy, damn it; call me!"

Frank grimaced as the message screen finally disappeared and was replaced by his blue and green wallpaper. Joe was still staring at him, no glaring at him with an "I told you so" air about him. The younger Hardy opened his mouth, probably to voice his opinion, but Frank beat him to it. "Don't say a word, Joe, not a single word." And with that he began furiously punching a number into his phone.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Frank tried to remain calm as he waited for Callie to answer the phone and after four rings he heard the phone click. "Oh so now you can call me," his girlfriend's sarcastic voice drifted through the earpiece and Frank silently cursed caller ID. He had wanted the first word.

"Yeah, I'm finally calling you."

"And?"

"And I think we're overdue for a talk."

"Well of course it's been two weeks."

"Callie, you're not going to want to hear this."

"What do you mean? Frank Hardy, I think I very much want to hear this apology."

"I'm not apologizing."

"What do you mean you're not apologizing? I'm angry at you."

"You're always angry at me." Frank sighed. "Look, what I'm trying to say is-"

"Stop that Frank. You make it sound like you're trying to break up with me."

"That's because I am. Look Callie, you know I love you, but I also know you can't keep doing this. If you stay with me you'll always be waiting on the end of the mysteries, and the reality is that those aren't going away." His words were calm, emotionless and he was met with a momentary silence on the other end of the line.

"Wh…What do you mean you're breaking up with me? Frank, we were going to be engaged."

"I'm sorry, Callie, but we were never going to be engaged."

"But I had plans. Everyone said we're so perfect for each other and our families get along so well. I was just over visiting your mother earlier and- Frank, I'm sorry for all the calls. I was just so worried. Imagine what it was like for me to not hear from you for two weeks. I'm sorry if the calls were over the top, but I just got scared. Please don't do this to me. I love you."

"I'm sorry, I really am, but things have been over between us for a long time now. The fighting about cases, the constant hints about wanting me to propose when you know I'm not ready. It's just too much. You're ready to settle down and have this wonderful suburban life with a house, kids, and nine to five jobs and I'm just not. Actually, I'm not sure I'll ever be. You can't be completely shocked by this."

He heard a sniffle on the other end of the line and knew Callie was crying. "No, no I can't say I am. Just tell me one thing Frank."

"Anything."

"Is it…is it her?"

Frank shut his eyes tightly knowing exactly who "her" was. "No, Callie it isn't her."

"Oh." There were several sniffles on the other end the line and Frank suddenly became aware that his face was wet. Their relationship may have been heading down the tubes and he may have not been in love with her, but she still held a special place in his heart. Her voice cracked over the connection, "Frank, I think… I think I'm going to hang up now."

"Go ahead, Callie. Just trust me when I say I'm sorry."

"I do. Ha, seems so strange, I do," she whispered and the line went dead.

Frank took a deep breath and pulled the phone away from his ear before shutting it. He sat there a moment feeling Joe's eyes on him. He knew Joe wanted to say something, he was fidgeting, but he was also respecting his elder brother and his feelings. After all, it wasn't everyday that you broke up with you're girlfriend of several years even Joe had to have some decency.

Frank finally sighed and dropped his cell phone on the seat between him and his brother. "Joe," he whispered not looking up, "It's done."

"So I gathered. I thought you'd finally decided to marry her. That whole speech back in the boat house kind of cemented that. You didn't love Nancy; you wanted to marry Callie."

Frank sighed, "I had to make him think I'd shoot Joe. You know that. I had to make him think there were more important things to me than Nancy, things that I would do anything to protect. I thought it would be obvious to you; you know how I feel about the marriage thing."

Joe ran a hand through his blonde hair and slowly shook his head. "No Frank. You were very convincing."

"So Nancy…"

"I think so."

"Can I borrow your phone?"

"Why? You've got yours right there."

"I've got to call someone very important but I've got the feeling this important person doesn't want to talk to me right now."

"Oh, Frank, I'm not sure that is the best idea. I agree it is high time you two had this conversation, but the phone isn't a good way to go about it."

"Joe, we're leaving the country in under an hour. I don't really have a choice."

"Sorry big brother, but we always have a choice. It's just a matter of whether you believe she'll forgive that choice."

* * *

**A/N. Well, that's it for this one. I know this isn't the ending some of you wanted, but this last scene was written before the rest of the story and I had to stick to it. I hope you like it and are glad to finally have an ending. Maybe there is some Nancy/Frank in the future, but I was determined they would not get together in this one. I have some thoughts for a sequel eventually, but I wanted to give you guys a chance to voice your opinions. Should I include Lexi and Claire in the sequel or would you prefer a straight Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mystery?**


End file.
